High School Stories
by Sbteja
Summary: Young Tony struggles through high school in an effort to finally fit in with his adoptive family, but when a certain Israeli family moves to D.C., will Tony have the courage he needs to face the menace he once called Dad? Rated for abuse. HIATUS!
1. First Day

**Hey! Okay, this is my second NCIS Fanfic, but I decided to go a little more AU this time. I got to thinking as I watched NCIS reruns the other day. Gibbs always acted like a father to Abby, and Tony . . . so a fanfic was born! Either way, please review. Reviews fuel my writing!**

* * *

"Tony! Hurry or you'll be late for school!" Jenny Gibbs called her seventeen year old son as she packed her daughter's lunch.

"Here you go, Abby." She handed a bag lunch to her and patted her shoulder just as a slightly older man with graying hair entered the kitchen.

"Hey, Jen." He greeted and kissed her lightly on the lips. "We have to go soon, is Tony up yet?" He asked as he patted his little girl's head, then reminded himself that she wasn't little anymore; she was almost fifteen.

"Mornin' mom, mornin' dad." Tony said, answering his father's question, after sliding down the hand-rail to the stairs. He grabbed his twenty dollars for lunch off of the counter as he entered the kitchen. He kissed his mom's cheek and nodded goodbye to his dad before setting off towards his dad's other car, grinning as he got into the yellow car that held a single black stripe.

"Cool." He muttered, mostly to himself before turning towards his Goth sister.

"Need a ride, Abbs?" He asked, putting on some cool shades and turning up the music. Abby smiled and hopped into the passenger seat. Tony looked over at her and smiled; for a Goth, she was rather peppy. He started the car, after adjusting his mirrors, and raced off towards school. Jethro Gibbs stared after his children in shock.

"Maybe I shouldn't have given Tony an extra set of keys to my car." He smiled as he turned to his wife.

"And since when did Abby go Goth?" He asked, a teasing smile forming on his lips as he pulled Jenny into his arms and stared at her. Jen smiled and shook her head.

"Tony is seventeen, now. We can trust him with a bit more responsibility, I hope." Jethro laughed and Jenny continued. "And Abby is just going through a phase, she'll grow out of it. Now come, we'll be late for work." Jethro smiled and leaned into kiss Jenny softly, before leading her to her car.

* * *

Tony arrived at school in record time, allowing himself to stare at a few girls as they walked by, including his girlfriend, Jeanne. He smiled and stepped out of his car, pulling Jeanne in for a quick hug and kiss.

"Eww, Tony!" Abby complained as she stepped out of the car. She grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder before walking towards the school building with an expression of disgust; she never liked Jeanne Benoit. Tony smiled after her and draped his arm over Jeanne's shoulders. Jeanne smiled and leaned into him as they walked to school, frowning as she caught him glancing at other girls on their way there.

"Tony, what are you doing?" She asked in an annoyed tone. Tony sighed and looked down at her. He smiled sheepishly at her disappointed expression, then frowned.

"I can't even look?" He teased and she scowled.

"No!" She said firmly and Tony looked forward, glowering.

"I was just joking." He muttered under his breath. "Some girls just don't have a sense of humor."

Jeanne was completely oblivious to what he said and ignored him when he pulled his arm away, and stalked off to class in the opposite direction as her. Tony groaned; his relationship with Jeanne was great at the beginning, he even said that he loved her, but it seemed nowadays that they had more fights then anything. He sighed; time for another break-up. Only, he was upset at that because he was thinking about breaking up with Jeanne. She was the longest relationship he ever had, and now he had to end it.

_Oh well, that's just what I have to do sometimes. Abby will be happy._ He thought to himself as he entered first period, History. He sunk into his chair, preparing for another boring lesson from Mr. Vance, when something, or someone, caught his eye. Right next to him was a beautiful girl with curly, but not too curly, dark brown hair that spilled over her shoulder's perfectly. She got up, when called by Mr. Vance, and went to the front of the room to introduce herself. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown, and her face was heart-shaped. She wore black cargo pants and a nice, tight fitting green shirt, with a black jacket. Around her slender neck was a gold necklace that held the Star of David. Tony's mouth popped open with an almost audible pop as he stared at the girl. He quickly reassembled his expression when she glanced at him. Ziva smirked, as if reading his mind, but returned her gaze quickly to the rest of the class as it became more than just a glance.

"Class," Mr. Vance spoke up, "this is Ziva David, a new student from Israel."

"Dah-Veed." Ziva corrected after he gave his introduction. He nodded at her, acknowledging her correction than motioned her to sit at her seat. She obliged and went back to her desk next to Tony, who would look at her every five minutes throughout class. Little did he know, she noticed these glances and tried to ignore him for the time being. After a dull lecture about our economy, Tony rushed over to Ziva's side, running through a few pick-up lines in his head. She turned to look at him and he blanked.

"Hi." Was all he managed to say. Ziva smiled, secretly recognizing his nervous behavior.

"Shalom." She responded and he shot her a confused look. She laughed.

"My name, as you know, is Ziva. Hello." She held out a hand. He shook it and swallowed before replying.

"Tony. Hey." He smiled his charming smile and she laughed again before turning to head off to her next class.

"Goodbye, Tony. I hope to see you again." And she was gone, leaving Tony dazed.

Periods two and three were meaningless to Tony, he didn't even know about what the teacher talked about. All that ran through his head was Ziva. Before he knew it, it was time for lunch.

"Hey, Tony." Tim McGee called as he spotted his friend in the lunch line. Tony turned towards Tim and smiled.

"Hey, McGoo." Tim rolled his eyes, wondering why he was friends with Tony in the first place. After they grabbed some food, Tony went to sit with Tim and tons of his other friends. He barely noticed them though, busy as he glanced around the cafeteria, looking for Ziva. That was when he spotted his younger sister talking to a smaller version of Ziva. He assumed it was her younger sister.

"So, man. You gonna be football captain again this year?" Finely asked, interrupting his thoughts. Tony grinned widely.

"You know it!"

* * *

"So, I'm Abby, by the way, what about you?" Abby asked as she directed her knew friend over to her lunch table. The Israeli girl smiled.

"My name is Natalia, but you may call me Tali." Abby smiled.

"Cool, a nick name. You can call be Abbs." She told her as they sat at the lunch table.

"Hey, Abbs." Jimmy Mallard greeted her. Abby smiled again.

"Hey, Jimmy. This is Tali. She's new." Abby explained as a puzzled look crossed his face.

"Guess what, Abbs?" He asked excitedly. Abby raised her eyebrows.

"My dad's gonna teach here this year, science." He smiled proudly and Abby grinned, finally sitting down. After congratulating Jimmy, she immediately turned her full attention to Tali.

"So, Tali. Do you have any siblings?" Tali nodded.

"I have an older sister, Ziva, and an even older brother, Ari. Although Ari is in college right now." Abby nodded seriously, which made Tali giggle.

"And you?" She asked. Abby rolled her eyes.

"Just an older brother, Tony." She sighed as she remembered his embrace with Jeanne this morning and shuddered. Tali looked at her in confusion, but decided to let it go, so she began to eat.

* * *

It wasn't until Gym class that Tony saw Ziva again. She hadn't forgotten about him, either, and ran up to him, already dressed in her P.E. clothes when he entered. He stared at her in shock.

"How'd ya change so quickly, and come before everyone else?" He asked her, recovering from the surprise. She shrugged.

"I am Mossad. We are supposed to be fast." She teased and turned back to run a few laps around the gym before class. Tony just stared at her in amazement, not knowing if she was joking or not, all the while wondering what the heck Mossad was. He shrugged it off and went to change before class, exiting the boys' locker room, and was still surprised to see that only a few were here today.

"Are we early?" he asked to no one in particular as he walked towards Ziva. She stopped her running and answered him with a shrug, coming over to meet him halfway. By now more teenagers began to come in.

"Weird." Tony muttered under his breath. Ziva heard him and nodded, agreeing with him. He again shrugged it off as they watched as a partially gray haired man walked into the gym carrying a cup of coffee. Tony gasped.

"Oh, no." he whispered, ducking behind Ziva partially, who stared at him in confusion.

"Hello." came the voice of Jethro Gibbs as it rang through the gym. "Since Coach Doyle can't make it today, I am your substitute. I just want to let you know before hand, that I don't tolerate anyone messing around. Just ask Tony." He snorted and continued as a few people turned to smirk at Tony, holding back laughs. "Today, we will be doing a few drills, some that I learned when I was a marine. Any complaints, and, well, you don't want to know." He took a sip of his coffee and began to explain their first drill. Tony groaned; this was going to be a long class. The only good thing about this was that Ziva did not laugh at him; she only smiled at him once, sympathetically.

After gym, everyone was sore. Some of them glowered at Tony, while others just ignored him; those others would be his friends, and seeing as over half of the grade was Tony's friend, he was in the clear. The only other person that came out of there without complaint was Ziva David. Tony frowned, sure that only his dad would make their kid do that every other weekend.

"You do this often, Zee-vah?" Tony teased and Ziva smirked.

"More than you know, Tony." He could only stare in awe as she walked away, heading to her locker.

Tony shook his head, trying too clear his thoughts as he walked to his locker, surprised by the visitor he had waiting there. She smiled.

"Hey, Tony." She said and pecked him on the cheek. Tony sighed; he knew this would come sooner or later.

"Jeanne, we need to talk." He explained when he didn't kiss her back. She frowned.

"About what?" she asked, although she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Look, I don't think this is working." He stated simply, but she merely looked even more confused.

"What's not working, Tony?" she asked innocently. Tony took a deep breath, expecting tears or anger, but mostly tears. He blew out the air noisily and stared at her straight in the eye.

"Us." He said, cringing on the inside as he waited for the waterworks. A single tear formed on her cheek.

"Are you-are you b-breaking up w-with m-me?" she stammered. He nodded and she scowled at him.

"This is because of the new girl, isn't it?" She nearly yelled, causing a few people to turn their heads. Tony was just grateful that Ziva wasn't nearby. He just stared at her, not knowing what to say. She glowered when he didn't respond.

"No! You know what? You can't break up with me! I'm breaking up with you, Tony Gibbs!" She shouted and stormed away, leaving Tony dazed and confused. He shut his locker door, knowing that he had already packed everything he needed.

"Weirdest first day, ever." He muttered under his breath, still thinking about Ziva.

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**Soooo? Watchya think? Please review, I need feedback! DON'T BE LAZY, PEOPLE! :-)**


	2. Suspicions

**Hey, I'm back! Sorry if I am disappointing some non-Tiva fans, but for now, that is where the story is heading, but don't worry, it might make a turn for the worst, just not in this chapter. **

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Tony walked back to the car with a less-than-cheery expression; he had just broken up with the one girl that he has dated for almost two years, mainly because he went speechless over this new girl. He had to admit, though, he liked her personality and she was good in gym, not to mention the fact that she was breathtakingly beautiful. Tony sighed as he reached his car, pulling his key out of his pocket automatically and unlocking the car.

He had to admit that he was not expecting his sister to be already sitting in the passenger seat.

"Hello." She greeted him cheerfully. He just stood outside the car and stared at her in confusion. Abby shrugged.

"Tali taught me how to break into a car, so I tried it with yours. Well it's not really yours, but rather Dad's," She shook her head. "You get the picture." Tony stared at his sister, stunned before he finally got into the car. Halfway to their house, he confronted her.

"So, who's Tali?" He asked casually. Abby saw through his pretenses and snorted.

"Natalia David, she's new." She replied lightly. Tony's breath caught; David. He swallowed quickly, and glanced over at Abby, who was thankfully leaning against the car door and staring out the window.

"Yeah, I met her sister, Ziva, right?" he commented nonchalantly. Abby looked up at him and frowned, studying his face before shrugging.

"Yeah." She affirmed. Tony went over their conversation again as they pulled up at their house. He saw that the driveway was empty; mom and dad weren't home yet. He was wondering why dad wasn't home yet, seeing how he was teaching Tony's P.E. class, when another thought popped into his head. He snapped his head to Abby who jumped at the sudden movement.

"Wait. Why was Tali teaching you how to break into a car?" he nearly shouted angrily. Abby looked up at him, shock and fear plain on her face. Tony took a deep breath to calm himself, then he raised an eyebrow at his younger sister. Abby smiled slightly at his concern and was quick to explain.

"So, Tali and I were walking back from last period when I grumbled about having to wait by the car for you. Tali made some comment about how she wouldn't have to wait, that she could get into a car without a key. I said 'nuh-uh' and she said 'yes, I can show you some time' and I said 'sure' and then lead her back to your car, well dad's—"

"Abby! I get the point." He said, frustrated every time she rambled on like that. Abby smirked at his expression and hopped out of the car, heading towards the house. Tony just rolled his eyes at his little sister before following her into the house.

* * *

"Hey, kids were home!" Jethro called as he helped his wife out of the car. As expected Abby flew down the stairs in a flash, nearly slamming into her father as he walked through the door. Tony smiled as he followed her into the kitchen, which was where the side door was located, closest to the cars. This was the only time he envied his little sister, she and dad had such a close relationship. He smiled at his dad and went up to hug his mom. They both smiled in return before today's events flowed back into Tony's mind. He suddenly became very angry at his father. He frowned, his fists balling and un-balling as he stared at his father for a moment, trying to control his anger before he spoke to him. Jethro noticed the tension and smirked at Tony before walking up to him and slapping him on the back of his head. Tony nearly fell forward as shock replaced anger on his features. He stared up at his father, who had an amused expression on.

"Whatchya do that for?" He asked. Jethro shrugged.

"Two reasons," he said as his son stared at him. "One, it was for what you were about to say, and two, it got rid of some of your anger." He said the reasons lightly, without any threat or command and Tony smiled slightly, and laughed a little.

"Yeah, guess I needed that." He replied as he walked up the stairs.

"What are you doing, Tony?" His mother asked as she saw him walk out of the kitchen and into the family room. He was halfway up the stairs when she finished the question. Tony shrugged.

"Homework." He lied perfectly without missing a beat. His father, however, knew that it was not true. Jethro snorted, and Tony grinned, and then remembered something.

"Hey, dad?" he asked hesitating. Gibbs turned to him.

"Yeah?" he asked when Tony did not continue.

"Can Tim come over tomorrow?" Tony asked straightforwardly. Jethro frowned for a moment, and then smiled.

"Sure, kiddo." Tony grinned and ran into his room to call his friend.

* * *

"Tony! Get your butt down here NOW or you'll be late for school!" Tony heard his mother shout from downstairs. He groaned and rolled over, hoping that fatigue would pull him under, until he thought of _her._

Tony literally jumped out of bed and rushed to his closet, trying to find a cool outfit to impress Ziva. He knew it wasn't like him to get obsessive about a girl, but there was something about her that made his heart thump unevenly, his breathing become shallow and made him feel . . . alive! Of course he would never admit that to her, "she'd probably kill me." He joked, unaware that she actually could. That was when Mossad entered his mind. What is Mossad? He wondered.

Tony shrugged it off, he could always ask his dad later, his dad knew _everything._

Again, like yesterday, Tony slid down the railing of the stairs and kissed his mom goodbye, this time hugging his dad goodbye, before leaving. An ear to ear grin never left his face.

"Now what has gotten into that boy?" Jethro asked as Tony bolted out the door. Jenny only smiled.

"A girl." She replied simply before walking out to their car. Jethro only stared at her.

* * *

Tony eagerly hopped out of his car the second he parked, spotting Ziva and Tali walking into school, which was odd, considering school didn't start for another twenty minutes. He ran up to them, preferably on Ziva's side, and called to them.

"Hey, Zee-vah." He greeted, then turned to the younger of the two. "And, hello Natalia, can I call you Tali, or would you rather I not?" Tali giggled as her sister blushed slightly, however Tony didn't notice.

"Tali is fine, you must be Tony." She replied.

"Shalom, Tony." Ziva responded with a small smile. Tony grinned at her.

After walking and talking about school and homework, Tali left to go to her class, whispering something in a foreign language to Ziva and dashing off when Ziva scolded her. Tony stared at her curiously.

"What language was that?" he asked as they made it to her locker.

"Hebrew." She replied, feeling as though Tony understood part of what Tali said, but guessed that he hadn't. Tony seemed to ponder this for a moment.

"What part of Israel are you and Tali from?" he asked, questioning her further. She smiled, amused by his curiosity.

"Tel Aviv." Tony furrowed his eyebrows as he considered it briefly, and then smiled at her.

"Cool." She laughed at his pleasure in these trivial answers.

"Come on, Tony," she laughed as she grabbed his hand, towing him down the hall, "We will be late for Mr. Vance's class." Tony frowned at that fact, but followed her willingly, not thinking about or feeling anything but her hand in his.

* * *

Jeanne Benoit watched as the new girl held Tony's hand on the way to first period. _Tony's _hand. _HER _Tony. She scowled. How she hated that girl, how she hated _ZIVA DAVID!_

As Jeanne stood there, just barely out of the sight of the two, she planned her vengeance. 'Ziva David will pay!' she thought bitterly as she headed off to her first period class.

* * *

Tony smiled as he sat in the back of Mr. Vance's class, daydreaming about Ziva. He sighed and looked over at her, and caught her glancing at him as well, she looked away quickly. He smiled wider, as he did this morning, his grin spreading from ear to ear, that is, until he saw another guy staring at her. Tony frowned, feeling a surge of jealousy at this unwanted competition, thinking of many different ways that this guy could "accidentally" get hurt.

After class, Tony walked up to Ziva. She smiled and he held out his hand. She declined it, and almost laughed when rejection flashed across Tony's face.

"We have different classes, Tony." She reminded him, and Tony grinned, hurrying off to his next class; thinking only about Ziva.

Abby walked into science class when she first spotted Tali. She sat at one of the lab tables and grinned at Abbs when she walked in, patting the seat next to her. Abby nearly squealed with excitement and hurried to occupy that seat.

"Shalom, Abbs." She greeted, smiling.

"Shalom, Tali." Abby giggled. Tali smiled wider, and then leaned over to whisper something in Abby's ear as class began.

"Abby, you won't believe this, but guess what!" Abby smiled and turned towards her.

"What?" she whispered. Tali smiled.

"I think my sister likes Tony! But that's not the best part! He walked her to class this morning!" Abby gasped and her eyes grew wide.

"Really?" She whispered rather loudly, making a few other people turn their heads. Tali nodded.

"No way!" Abby very nearly yelled. Dr. Mallard turned towards the back of the class as a few students giggled.

"Anything you'd like to share with the class, Ms. Gibbs?" Abby turned to Tali, who looked like a deer in headlights, then back to Dr. Mallard. Abby shook her head quickly and mumbled "No, thank you Uncle Ducky." so low that only Tali could hear it.

* * *

Tony cringed internally when he entered gym that day. What if his dad was there? He sighed and decided to let it go as he headed off to the boys' locker room. There was nothing he could do about it anyway.

When he left the locker room, he wasn't surprised to see Ziva running around the gym again. He smiled.

"Hey, Zee-vah! You do that every day?" He called out. Ziva ran up to him, jogging in place for a moment before stopping altogether. She smiled at him.

"Yes." Tony looked around and laughed. Ziva frowned.

"Why are you laughing? What is so funny?" She asked, looking around in confusion when she saw that they were the only ones there. Tony stopped and smiled, holding back more laughter.

"Have you noticed that we seem to always be the first ones here?" He asked.

"Yeah, I have, Tony." Ziva whirled around to find Jethro Gibbs standing in the doorway to the gym with a coffee cup in his hand. Tony took notice of how she tensed before turning; her muscles now relaxing as she realized who it was. Tony shook it off and had the strangest feeling that he was in trouble as he stared at his father.

"Shalom special agent Gibbs." Ziva greeted. Tony raised his eyebrows, Ziva knew his dad? Jethro nodded at her, and stared at Tony.

"Hello, Ziva, Tony." Tony swallowed, not knowing why he was nervous or why he had an urge to lie to his dad about Ziva.

"Hey dad." Tony greeted, and watched Ziva closely, listening as her breathing stopped silently, but abruptly, before starting back up again. Tony turned to his father as another question popped into his head.

"Dad? Shouldn't our actual gym teacher be here today?" Tony asked, stepping forward. Jethro and Ziva glanced at each other for a moment, Tony caught this and frowned.

"Wait, why aren't you at work?" Tony questioned, becoming more and more suspicious. Jethro glanced at the clock, three minutes until gym started.

"I'll tell you at home," Jethro answered quickly before attempting to change the subject "but why are you and Ms. David so early?" Tony looked around, maybe he walked fast to see Ziva quicker? He couldn't tell his dad that.

"I come early to get run in beforehand, Gibbs." Ziva said before Tony had a chance to answer "I spotted Tony in the hallway, and told him I would race him when we got here," Ziva smiled, "He did not think he would get his butt kicked by a girl." Tony frowned.

"Hey!" He said as if she'd insulted him, and then looked at his father, hoping for no particular reason that he bought the story. He did. Jethro shrugged and went into the supply room to get the things he needed for class. Tony stared at Ziva in puzzlement. She smiled and patted his cheek.

"I have my reasons." she explained, reading his expression, before beginning another circuit around the gym. Tony just watched, occasionally looking between her and his father, as he carried things out of the supply room, wondering how they knew each other. It was odd, how she could lie so easily to his father; Tony usually had to practice the lie, to run the words over in his head so that it met the requirements for all the facts. Ziva made up a lie on the spot, speaking with such confidence and ease, that he almost fell for it. He frowned further; who was Ziva David?

"Tony! Ziva!" Jethro called from across the gym as more students walked in. They all stared as Tony and Ziva walked up to Jethro.

"Yeah?" Tony asked as they both walked up to him. Gibbs smirked.

"You two will be running my coarse first." Tony groaned.

* * *

**Well, here we go. Review! ;-)**


	3. Arguments

**Hey, here is that update I promised! Well, I didn't promise it, but it was implied! Okay, for all of you McAbby fans out there; this one's partially for you! Sorry for the **_**partially**_** part, it will only be mild, but very noticeable . . . by Tony! *squeals* I have a feeling that Tony will let it go after a while, and I am not saying that **_**just**_** because I am writing this story . . . Anyway, here it is! (Everything ****underlined**** is Hebrew)**

**~Sbteja**

* * *

"We're at home." Tony all but growled as he stomped into the kitchen. Jenny turned around and raised her eyebrows, turning her attention from dinner.

"Would you like to share something with the class, Tony?" She asked in an amused tone. Tony scowled.

"Where's dad? I need to talk to him!" he demanded. Jenny raised her eyebrows further and stared in disbelief at her son.

"He's where he always is, but listen Tony," she stared at him with a disapproving expression, "I don't want to hear that tone of voice used again. You may be seventeen, but that does not give you the right to go around snarling at everyone." Tony's expression lightened a bit and he nodded, turning to head down to the basement. Jenny watched her son stomp off to his father with a mixture of confusion and concern plain on her face. She shook it off momentarily and turned to work on dinner as Abby skipped into the kitchen.

"Where's Tony?" she asked lightly, bounding up to her mother. Jenny turned and smiled at her daughter.

"He's with your father, although you may not want to talk to him now; he's in a bad mood." Abby sighed; they all knew how Tony could be when he was having one of _those_ days.

"'Kay, mom. I—" Abby was interrupted by three knocks on the door. "OOH! I'LL GET IT!" she sang before skipping off to the door. She yanked it open and her heart skipped a beat. Abby blushed and stepped out of the way to let their guest come in.

"Hey, Timmy." She greeted quietly before bouncing into the kitchen again. McGee stared after her, his ears turning read. He shook his head quickly, and followed her into the kitchen.

"Hey, Abbs. You know where Tony is?" he asked, trying to look everywhere but at her. Abby frowned.

"He's in the basement . . ." she trailed off, as if that were explanation enough. Only Tim McGee, one of Tony's closest friends, would know what she meant.

"Oh." He said quietly, turning to face her for the first time today. He didn't even look at her when she opened the door. . . They both looked away as she met his gaze, heat flooding there faces as awkward silence followed.

"So . . ." Timmy started, but was quickly interrupted by Tony.

"I CAN HANG OUT WITH ANYONE I WANT!" he yelled as he stomped through the kitchen, quickly darting up the stares. McGee sighed and smiled a sad smile to Abby before following. Little did she know, he was sad that he had to leave her. . .

* * *

"DAD!" Tony all but yelled as he marched down the stairs. Jethro smirked at glanced up at his son, but continued to sand his boat.

"Yeah?" He asked lightly in his Gibbs-knows-everything tone. Tony scowled further.

"What was that all about at the gym? How do you know Zi?" He blurted out without thinking. Jethro froze and straightened up, staring his son right in the eye with a suspicious expression.

"Zi?" he asked in a disappointed tone. Tony looked down, trying to hide the sudden heat that flared under his face; he was supposed to be mad, not embarrassed. Jethro raised his eyebrows.

"Look, Tony. I wouldn't get to close to this girl if I were—"

"But your not me, dad! And I'm not you! So back off!" Tony interrupted angrily, now staring at his dad full on. Gibbs grew furious at this comment, his suspicions _had_ been correct.

"Tony! I am your father! And since you live under _my_ household, you follow _my_ rules! I don't want you around this girl!" He growled, making Tony's bottled anger grow as his father treated him more and more like a child.

"Why NOT?" Tony nearly yelled, trying to keep his temper in check. Jethro's eyes widened, and he stepped closer to his son, staring him directly in his eyes only inches from him, trying almost desperately to intimidate his seventeen year old son.

"She is not—It's just that—" Jethro took a deep breath and made an effort to put more authority into his voice. "Because I said so, and until you move out or go to college—whichever comes first—you listen to _me_!" Tony backed away from him and stared at his father in disbelief; his dad never acted like this about any of Tony's girlfriends, why the sudden change with Ziva? Tony did not care, he could—he would—be friends with Ziva if he wanted to!

"I CAN HANG OUT WITH ANYONE I WANT!" He shouted as he ran up the stairs, past McGee and Abby, and up more stairs into his room.

Tony slammed the door behind him and fell onto his bed, smashing his face into a pillow. How could his dad do this to him? It was the only time he actually _liked_ a girl for her personality other than her looks. Sure, he thought he loved Jeanne, but that all went away when he met Ziva. She was stunning and hot, dare he think it, beautiful. Beautiful. He only used that word to describe Jeanne, and that was after he 'fell in love' with her. Was he falling for Ziva? Yes she was beautiful, and yes he loved her personality. But could he love her? If he did, his dad was ruining everything for him! Why would his dad not object to any other tramp he dated, but he completely rejected Ziva, the one girl that he could be truly happy with!

Tony's thoughts were interrupted by three small knocks on the door. He groaned.

"Who is it?" He called hoarsely; his yelling must have taken a toll on his voice. Tony frowned and tried to clear his throat.

"Uh, Tony? It's Tim, McGee." Tony sat up on his bed, surprised to feel tears on his cheeks. He wiped them away quickly and hung his head in his hands.

"Come in, Tim." He mumbled weakly, although, loud enough for McGee to hear. He entered cautiously and raised an eyebrow as he took in all of Tony's posters from that swimsuit magazine that Tony read, well not read, but viewed. He looked around the room, not surprised to see a few new model cars on Tony's wooden dresser. He chuckled inwardly; Tony hadn't cleaned his room since last time McGee had been here. Clothes were scattered all over the floor . . . Most happiness faded when Tim finally took in Tony's form, sitting on the edge of the bed. McGee closed the door behind him softly and sat next to Tony on his bed.

"You okay, Tony? What happened?" McGee asked, although he knew exactly what the conversation had been about. Ziva, 'the new girl' as McGee referred to her as, was the only thing that could get Tony so riled up today.

Tim sighed, then stood up.

"Well then," He muttered, "I'll leave you to your thoughts." He walked out the door, but didn't leave Tony's house; he would never do that to his friend. Instead, he sat on the couch downstairs and flicked the TV on low volume. If Tony needed him, he'd be here. Abby walked in then, she didn't realize Tim was there until she saw that the TV was on. She blushed slightly and sat down on the couch also, but on the opposite side as Tim. Although McGee was pretending to watch TV, he was completely aware of every action of Abby's. Every time she moved, it would barely jostle the couch, but he would notice every fidget, every movement. He sighed when she moved for the fifth time.

"Um, Timmy?" she asked nervously. McGee smiled at her.

"Yeah?" he asked in a hopeful voice. Abby looked down when his eyes met hers.

"Um, do you think . . ." She started, but quickly changed her question. "Is Tony okay?" Tim's face fell when she asked about Tony instead of what he hoped she was asking. Abby wrote that off as 'Tony's not doing so well' and she frowned also.

"Oh." Was all she said. They were silent after that.

* * *

"But, Papa!"

Ziva yelled angrily. "Why should you care!" Her father stared at her in disbelief form his position in his chair.

"Ziva, sweetheart, you are my daughter. Of course I would care." He answered softly. She snorted.

"Papa! You do not mind that Tali spends time with Abby Gibbs!" she shouted desperately, very aware as to why her father had not approved of Tony. Eli David shook his head slowly, and looked at the picture of Ziva, Tali, and Ari on his desk before answering her.

"I am afraid of your friendship of Anthony Gibbs, son of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the man who is supposed to be watching out for your safety! I am sure he is not at all happy at Tony, either." He explained in a soothing tone, but Ziva was far from soothed.

"Why does it matter who his father is, Abby is also Gibbs' daughter, but you do not forbid Tali!" she shouted. "You are only upset, because I might have feelings for him!" Immediately after the words left her mouth, she regretted them. Eli's eyes widened; his suspicions _had_ been correct.

"You have feelings for this boy? For this Anthony Gibbs?" He asked incredulously, raising an eyebrow. Ziva clenched her jaw, and waited, not wanting to answer his question. Eli used this silence to continue.

"He probably feels nothing towards you, he could only be _using_ you." He stated matter-of-factly. Ziva scowled.

"Tony would not do that!" She snarled and Eli smiled slightly.

"How much do you know about him?" He asked. "Do you even know that he has dated almost every girl in the school, and only one he has stayed with for longer than a month?"

Ziva stared at him wide-eyed, fury growing inside her.

"You had him checked? Why?" She whispered, not wanting to accept the fact that Tony may just be using her. Eli smiled a hard smile. It was not happy.

"I had them _all_ checked out, the entire Gibbs family. Only the best were to protect my daughters." He explained, and then continued on, musing. "Have you noticed that Anthony bears no resemblance to any of his family members? He was adopted from an abusive family. Tsk tsk, probably the reason why he is the way he is; a messed up playboy . . ."

Ziva scowled.

"Nothing is wrong with Tony!" she shouted before stomping through her father's office doors. She hurtled through the front doors and towards her car, yes _her_ car, and began to drive, wanting only to go to one place, but not exactly sure how to get there …

* * *

**Hey! Watchya think? Review this time, 'cause I have hundreds of readers and only a few reviews per chapter. So, all of you lazy-bones out there, it's only a review, I'm not asking you to run a mile for Pete's sake! Anyway, the more reviews I get, the faster I update. I am having a serious writer's block for this particular story, all I can think about is my other NCIS story, 'growing up'. I have big plans for that one . . . anyway, review! Give me your ideas, your feedback, Hell, I'll take insults! Just give me** _**something**_** to work with, people! (In other news, I am now a Beta! Yay!)**


	4. Discussions

**HEY! Sorry for the wait, here's chapter 4! My laptop shut down a few days ago as I was finishing up, and it erased **_**everything!**_** So, here's the second version of chapter. Although, this was better than my last draft in **_**my **_**opinion…**

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Tony sighed as he lay on the roof outside of his window; staring up at the stars. His roof was cross-gable, so his window was to the left of him and he was on the cross. Tony was content with where he was now, and completely forgot all about his argument with his dad, well almost. Almost, because the reason for their argument was lying next to him, her hands behind her head in the same position as Tony was in.

"Tony?" she asked after a while. He looked over at her to find her propped up on her right arm, staring at him. He smiled at her, prompting her to continue. She smiled back.

"Thank you for letting me come over, Tony." She looked so sincere when she thanked him, and he found himself wondering what drove her from home. Tony grinned.

"My pleasure, Zee-vah." He said, stretching out the syllables in her name, than he instantly became serious. "Why'd ya want to come in the first place?" She stared at him for a moment and sighed, assuming her previous position before speaking.

"My father and I…we had a disagreement." She stated coolly. Tony frowned, and propped himself up on his elbow to see the expression on her face. Her face was expressionless… He decided to change the subject instead of pressing on.

"Ziva, what is Mossad?" he asked. She frowned and looked up at him.

"Mossad is an…agency for intelligence and special operations. It is appointed by Israel to collect information, analyze intelligence, and perform special covert operations beyond Israel." She said, smiling at his curiosity. Tony furrowed his eyebrows.

"What do you have to do with Mossad; you are only seventeen, right?" he asked. Ziva laughed.

"Yes, Tony. I am seventeen, but my father is the head of Mossad. The director." She paused to gage his reaction, but Tony seemed to be deep in thought. "He has us train as well, considers us stronger than the others because we started when we could walk. I held my first gun at age five, my first knife at three…" she trailed off when Tony said nothing. She frowned, hoping that she had not scared him away. Apparently, she had done the opposite. Tony grinned.

"So, your like a…super-ninja-chick?" he asked, his grin getting wider. Ziva frowned in confusion.

"I am not a ninja, Tony." She said, but smiled softly. "But, yes. Something like that." Tony laughed and Ziva joined in, enjoying the simple humor in it all.

"So, what, is there a whole agency of super-ninja people? All led by your dad?" Tony asked when they stopped laughing. Ziva smiled and nodded.

"I guess so." She replied. Tony feigned seriousness.

"Well then, I don't ever want to get on his bad side." He said before chuckling lightly. Ziva did not laugh; Tony was already on his bad side. Tony noticed this and frowned.

"What's wrong, Ziva?" he asked, feeling stupid for laughing when she clearly found nothing humorous about it. Ziva shook her head and changed the subject.

"Tony, were you adopted?"

* * *

"Abbs." Jethro Gibbs began as he walked into the family room. He stopped abruptly when he saw his daughter curled up against Timmy McGee, sleeping. Tim's head was on Abby's head. Jethro smirked and walked over to McGee, leaning down to his level.

"McGee!" he whispered. Tim's head jerked up and Abby stirred. "I need to talk to my daughter." McGee was wide-eyed as he nodded quickly, gently nudging Abby to get up.

"Five more hours, mom." She murmured, snuggling closer into a mortified McGee. Tim shook her lightly and she sat up, looking around groggily before realization hit her. She blushed and stood up quickly, walking up stairs to her room. Gibbs smirked again and followed, leaving a shocked and disoriented McGee downstairs.

"Abbs." Jethro repeated, knocking on her door.

"Come in, dad." She answered, sounding a little nervous. He chuckled lightly and entered. Abby was sitting on her black sheet, bed.

"Abbs..." He started as he walked into her room, sitting next to her. He raised an eyebrow at her, looking pointedly around her black room. Abby snorted.

"It's fun, and cool." She answered his silence simply. Jethro's eyebrows shot up. He gently took a lock of Abby's hair in his hands.

"And your beautiful red hair? It used to look like your mother's." He questioned, smiling as he tugged playfully at her hair. Abby laughed.

"Dad, I like my hair black. I don't know, red seems too…I don't know." Abby pouted. "I like it, dad." Jethro sighed and kissed her forehead.

"Fine. But we _will_ talk about this later. And about McGee." He promised a now wide-eyed Abby. Gibbs smirked at this and walked out.

* * *

Tony sighed and ran his hand down his face, while Ziva watched carefully, and waited for his answer.

"Where did you hear that?" Tony finally asked, trying to ignore all the bad memories that flooded his mind, he shuddered. This did not go unnoticed by Ziva, and her father's words came back.

"_Have you noticed that Anthony bears no resemblance to any of his family members? He was adopted from an abusive family. Tsk tsk, probably the reason why he is the way he is; a messed up playboy ..."_

She pushed the thought away as she looked over at Tony. She reached over and touched his cheek.

"You do not need to talk about it, if you do not feel like it." She said and Tony smiled sadly at her. He sighed and she pulled her hand back.

"No, it's okay. It was a…while ago…" He disagreed with another shudder. "Yes, I was adopted. My real mother…she was murdered by my father. NCIS got involved because she was in the Navy.

"_Tony! I'm home!" Enrico DiNozzo slurred drunkenly as he burst through the front door of the DiNozzo mansion. Tony hid behind the stairs, in a fruitless attempt to escape his father's sight, but it was all in vain. His father had seen him. _

"_Don't you want to see your own father, Tony?" he asked, and Tony shook his head, cowering further behind the stairs. His father scowled and dropped his beer onto the floor, ignoring the huge mess it made. He stomped over to his son and picked him up, holding him under the arms._

"_Why not?" he growled, his breath smelling of beer and smoke washing over Tony's face. He coughed and Enrico threw him onto the ground. Six year-old Tony yelped and scrambled to his feet making a run for the kitchen. His father followed angrily._

"_Tony!" He shouted. "Get back here, NOW!" Tony just kept running, wide-eyed and frightened. He ducked under the dining table, but his father knocked it over and grabbed his son's shirt, lifting him off of the ground and up to his face level._

"_I ought to beat you for what you did." He snarled at the quivering boy. Tony shook his head quickly._

"_Please, Papa. No." he begged, tears starting to stream down his face. His father smiled wickedly as he pulled his fist back and then slammed it into the boy's face. Tony cried out in pain, and his father dropped him. As soon as Tony hit the floor, his father kicked him. Tony yelped again and crawled away, desperately trying to hide from his father's wrath. Tony whimpered when he felt a set of hands coil around his waist, and he struggled to get free, until he realized his mother had him. Tony cried and gripped onto his mother's shirt, burying his face in the crook of her neck._

"_Now, why'd you do that?" Tony's father asked. "We was just having fun, weren't we, Tony?" Tony shook his head into his mother's embrace, not wanting to meet his father's drunken gaze._

"_WHY YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE WEASEL!" He shouted, reaching out to slap the boy, but Laura DiNozzo stopped him._

"_Do not touch him, Enrico!" she hissed, not caring if he harmed her instead. He became furious at her words and punched her in the face. She stumbled back a few steps, and put Tony down, who ran right behind his mother's legs._

"_Tony!" His father yelled. "Come here, if you know what's good for you!" Tony shook his head and he hid behind his mom. His father sneered and punched Laura again. Tony stared in shock as tears began to flow. His mother remained silent, giving him no indication that he had hurt her. Enrico scowled._

"_I'll give you another chance, come here, boy!" his father shouted again. Tony closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around his mother's leg, shaking his head. He felt his mother take another punch wordlessly, and he cringed._

"_Papa! Stop! Please!" he pleaded, tears streaming endlessly down his face, he opened his eyes and saw his father grab one of the kitchen knifes. Tony instantly dropped his arms and backed away._

"_Enrico." his mother warned, "drop the knife." His father grinned evilly and advanced. Tony's mother backed up and turned to her son._

"_Tony, run." She ordered, and Tony obliged, taking off for the back door. He ran outside and into a bush, hearing his father bellow after him. Tony waited for his mom to come, for anyone to come but his father. He waited, and listened. He could barely hear the muffled yelling of his parents, until…nothing. It was completely silent. Tony had hoped that his father had left, or that his mother had gone to sleep. He was too young to consider any other possibility… But, instead of going inside to see what had happened, Tony curled up and cried, he rubbed his sore eye, and clutched his stomach and sobbed silently into the night._

"_All right, McGregor! Take pictures. DiNardo! We need anything that looks like evidence. Vidad! Search the woods for the boy, we need to find him!" Young Tony DiNozzo woke to more yelling early this morning. It wasn't exactly the yelling that woke him; he was used to that. It was the man who yelled. It wasn't his father. Tony sat up and stretched out like a cat, rubbing his swollen-shut eye. He winced, but realized that he had had worse. Officer Vidad noticed the rustling in the bushes and walked over to search them. She smiled when she saw the frightened boy in them, and scrutinized his eye and his arm that clutched his stomach._

"_Gibbs!" she yelled, making Tony jump. She reached down and hugged the boy to her, lifting him into her arms. She was never the motherly type, but she felt the need to comfort him. Tony snuggled into her embrace immediately and began to cry again. A man with short cut brown hair walked up to them, he looked to be in his early thirties._

"_Hello, there." He smiled, reaching out to take Tony's hand. Tony blinked and furrowed his eyebrows. The man called Gibbs laughed and lifted Tony into his arms unexpectedly. Tony stiffened, and Gibbs smiled. _

"_Hey, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Tony looked up at him with tear-filled eyes._

"_Promise?" he asked without thinking. He cringed, waiting to get hit. Gibbs frowned at this, and rubbed the boys back._

"_Promise."_

Tony sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. Ziva stared at him incredulously.

"Did your father come home drunk, often?" she asked quietly, feeling rude for asking him about unpleasant memories. Tony nodded and shuddered lightly. Ziva didn't know what to say, so she sat there silently and waited for Tony to say something.

"You never answered my question." He finally said. Ziva's eyebrows furrowed.

"What?" she asked. Tony opened his eyes and looked at her, a sad smile pulling at his lips.

"Who told you that I was adopted?" he murmured, almost silently. Ziva sighed and stared at the sky as she spoke.

"My father has many enemies that would like to kill him." she began. Tony frowned in confusion, but did not interrupt. "They would do anything to hurt him, even if that means killing me, Tali, or Ari. Special Agent Gibbs is at the school for protection detail. Usually NCIS does not get involved with this, but my father requested him. He went through many files of Agencies in Washington D.C., only to find the best to protect us while we are here. Agent Gibbs is here for a short period of time, they may replace him. That I do not know." She took a deep breath, unsettled by the idea that she doesn't know who her 'body guard' will be in a week. Tony nodded, still struggling to figure out why this has to do with his adoption information. Ziva smiled at him. "He read Gibbs' file, and found as much information about the Gibbs' family as possible. He told me that you were adopted. He does not approve of our friendship, and thinks that small piece of information will turn me against you." She snorted, and Tony furrowed his eyebrows, mulling over this new information. Four particular words caught his attention.

"You aren't staying here? I mean like, permanently?" He whispered, assuming his original position to avoid eye contact. It would ruin his entire reputation if _anyone_ saw Tony DiNozzo cry, even if it was just Ziva… Ziva shook her head.

"No." she murmured, turning to look at Tony, who was now gazing at the stars. Tony bit his lip and looked towards his window, away from Ziva. She was leaving, and he'd probably never see her again…

"How long." He asked quietly. She smiled a bit, and sat up.

"Long enough. I have until the end of senior year, and then I will become a full time Mossad officer, and return to Israel. Tali, however, may stay. My father will most likely send her to college, like Ari. He says that she is too…fragile for Mossad. Ari is smart, and is studying to be a doctor. Papa says that I am the strongest, and I will follow in his footsteps." She sighed, leaning back down. Tony frowned, but then smiled sadly.

"At least we have until the end of next year." He then grinned jokingly. "You think _I_ could join Mossad? It might be cool to be a super-ninja." Ziva laughed, and turned to face him.

"I am very sorry, Tony," she teased, "but you are not a citizen of Israel. Oh well." She laughed again and Tony chuckled. She sighed and reached over to grab Tony's hand unexpectedly. A shiver ran through Tony's spine and he sighed, closing his eyes, feeling completely content.

"It is okay, Tony. We have two years to go." She comforted him, misunderstanding the shudder she felt. He smiled and squeezed her hand.

"I know."

* * *

**Aww, poor Tony! Anyway, all of you out there that read and do not review, **_**review**_**. Please, guys. I need your feedback. Like I said in my other fic: Authors cannot read minds, especially through the internet. So, give me your opinion. Does my fic rock? Does it stink? Do I need to point my story in another direction? **_**What?**_** Anyway:**

**Reviews = Love**


	5. Early Mornings

**Okay, so since I have some other stories to work on, this fic kinda, subconsciously, accidentally, got moved to the back of my mind… so, to make up for it, I'll give you this, and update sooner next time!**

**Disclaimer: … um… you guys don't really think I own NCIS, do you?**

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Tony arrived at school thirty minutes early for the forth time this week. It wasn't because he was excited to learn, if anyone heard that, Tony's reputation would be down the toilet. No, it was the Israeli girl that walked into school at this exact time with her younger sister. Tony smiled as he saw them and got out of his car, quickly shaking awake a sleeping Abby before jogging over to Ziva and Tali.

"Hey, Ziva! Hey, Tali!" he greeted cheerfully, slipping his hand into Ziva's. She smiled at him.

"Shalom, Tony." Ziva replied, squeezing his hand in return. Tony grinned wider and looked over at Tali.

"Shalom, Tony." She said a bit more quietly, spotting Abby immediately as she lazily got out of the car. She ran over to her and Ziva chuckled. Tony looked at her in question. Ziva just shook her head.

"Tali is so excited to see Abby, they are… greatest friends, yes?" Tony smiled.

"Best friends, Ziva." he corrected, and she nodded.

"So, how was your night?" he asked, observing her clean clothes and smelling her strawberry shampoo. He sighed contentedly. Ziva rolled her eyes; lately Tony had been allowing her to sleep in his bed to get away from her father.

"It was fine, Tony." she replied and Tony frowned playfully.

"Well, that's good, because you do not know how uncomfortable my floor is… and to _sleep _on it? Not a smart idea." He rubbed his back with his free hand, feigning pain. She only laughed.

"You are the one who said that I could take the bed, I do not understand why you do not sleep on the couch downstairs." she retorted teasingly. Tony frowned at this. There were many reasons to this answer; he liked to watch her sleep, sometimes, if he was lucky, she mumbled in her sleep, he wanted to make sure she was safe… the list goes on, but Tony decided to use the more practical and least embarrassing answer.

"If my parents saw me sleeping on the couch, it would arouse many questions." he stated, smiling slightly at the end and squeezing her hand. This time, Ziva frowned in confusion.

"I do not understand." she said, but quickly added, "well, I understand about having a girl in your room, what I mean is, if you speak to your parents about the situation, they should let me stay… wouldn't they?" she asked, becoming more doubtful with each word she said. Tony shook his head slowly, with a sad smile on his face.

"Your father isn't the only one who is not happy with our… friendship." he said, hesitating over the last word, reminding her about their conversation on the rooftop a few days ago. Ziva sighed and nodded.

"Yes, our friendship is not preferable for most." she said, making Tony frown, not at her words, but how Ziva had said friendship with ease, making him realize that friends is all they would be. Ziva smiled at him reassuringly and squeezed his hand.

"Let us go to first period, Tony. It does not matter what they think, yes?" Tony grinned and nodded, separating their hands to get to his locker. Ziva sighed, and walked off to her locker. Tony frowned as he walked her walk off, wishing, for the first time, that he was still a DiNozzo, so that he could have his locker near Ziva's. The locker order was in alphabetical order. He frowned further and filched through his locker quickly, grabbing his things for first, second, and third period before rushing off to Ziva's locker.

Ziva arrived at her locker a minute later, and quickly entered the combination with ease, only slowing down to collect her things for her first three classes, taking her time since first period started in ten minutes.

"Hey!" Tony's voice caught her attention as he hurried towards her, out of breath when he made it to her locker. She smirked at this and ignored him for a moment, looking away and into her locker as she finished packing, making no indication that she could hear Tony next to her.

"Ziva, are you mad at me, or something?" he all but shouted in exasperation. Ziva closed her locker and grabbed his hand, making Tony furrow his eyebrows.

"Then why aren't you talking to me?" he asked. Ziva just looked over at him and smiled, letting go of his hand to walk into first period. Tony huffed and walked to his seat, an annoyed look on his face. Ziva merely chuckled lightly to herself, finding it entertaining that she could annoy him so easily.

"Miss David, is there something you'd like to share with the class?" Vance asked brusquely, slamming some papers down on his desk, realizing that no one had been paying attention to his lecture. Ziva smiled politely at him, inwardly irked by his tone, but covered it up, nevertheless.

"No, Mr. Vance." she said sweetly, pulling out a pen to write with. Vance narrowed his eyes at her tone, taking it as disrespect, but nodded anyway, and continued on with his lecture.

* * *

"Abby! Shalom!" Tali greeted as she ran over to embrace a groggy Abby. Abby smiled at her lazily as she tried to keep her eyes open. Tali instantly stopped in front of her and raised her eyebrows.

"Is something wrong? Did you wake up on the wrong side of the hedge?" she asked, as her friend closed the car door, struggling to get it to lock in. She chuckled after succeeding and rubbed her eyes.

"One, it's 'wake up on the wrong side of _bed_', and two, no, I'm just a bit tired. Tony has been waking me up too early for too long!" She stamped her foot on the ground and started to walk towards the school building. Tali giggled and followed.

"It's not funny!" Abby shouted, her eyes half closed. Tali threw her hand over her mouth to stifle the oncoming laughter, making Abby scowl further.

"I-I-am-s-sorry, Ab-Abby." Tali managed to say through her hand and laughter. Abby threw her hands up in the air in exasperation.

"No, no, it's not your fault, Tali! It's my brother's fault!" she yelled out as they walked into the building, making a few people turn and stare.

Tali's laughter finally died down once they reached their lockers, and she patted Abby on the back.

"Do not worry, Abby. You could always ask your parents for a ride…" She suggested weakly. Abby shook her head and pulled something out of her backpack. Tali eyed the Abby warily as she drank from the caf-pow cup eagerly.

"Abby…" she warned, watching as her friend sucked every last drop from the cup. Abby sighed when she was finished and tossed the cup in the nearest trash can with great precision, grinning widely. Tali became nervous when Abby jumped up and down on the spot.

"Abby…" she repeated, watching the girl move around as if she were on fast forward, packing her things in a matter of seconds.

"Aren't-caf-pows-the-best!" Abby spoke quickly, causing Tali's eyes to widen as her friend never stopped moving. "I-just-found-out-about-them! But-I'm-sure-that-I'll-get-used-to-them-soon! Hahaha-I-FEEL_-GREAT_!" And with that, Abby was off, running down the halls with a worried Tali following closely behind.

* * *

"Hey, Ziva! I know! How 'bout we watch a movie tonight!" Tony exclaimed on their way to lunch, making Ziva roll her eyes.

"I do not think your father likes me, Tony. If I come downstairs to watch a movie, he will think that something is down." she points out, smirking slightly at Tony's thoughtlessness. Tony grinned widely and shook his head.

"First of all, Ziva it's 'something is _up_' not _down_." He corrected. Ziva rolled her eyes.

"And, nope, my parents are gone today and tonight, working on an NCIS case. Surveillance, I think." He replied smugly. Ziva nodded and frowned slightly at the thought of Tali alone at home. Her father had business tonight also. Tony's smile faded as he misunderstood her expression.

"Oh, well, you don't have to, obviously, if you don't want to." He instantly backpedaled, feeling like an idiot for thinking that she would want to hang out with him. Ziva shook her head quickly and smiled at his insecurity.

"Of course I would like to come, Tony." she stated, getting in the lunch line in the cafeteria. Tony joined right behind her.

"Why'd you frown, then?" he asked, feeling very confused. Ziva chuckled lightly and paid for her food.

"My father is out of town tonight, I do not have to face him at dinner since he is not here. I did not know if I would still be spending the night at your house, and if I was, my sister would be home alone…" she trailed off, frowning again. Yes, her sister was old enough to take care of herself, but Ziva still felt that she must watch out for her.

Tony nodded at this, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought it over. He wanted Ziva to come home after school, like she usually did to avoid her father, but since her father was not there tonight, Tony was worried that she would choose to stay home with Tali.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Tony exclaimed as he paid for his own food and followed Ziva to their table. Ziva looked at him in confusion.

"Yes, Tony? Would you care to share it?" she asked sarcastically, putting her tray of food on the table. Tony sat next to her, grinning his 1000 watt smile.

"Of course I would, Ziva." He replied, taking a bite out of his pepperoni pizza. "Maybe, Tali could come over, too. I'm sure Abby would be ecstatic. _And_ it's Friday, so no school tomorrow! Whatdya say?" He asked, taking another bite of his pizza. Ziva smiled and chuckled.

"Sure, Tony. That would be nice." Tony grinned.

* * *

"Abby, I am a bit worried…" Tali trailed off, watching her friend bounce restlessly in her seat. Abby grinned at her, taking another sip of her caf-pow that she seemed to pull out of nowhere.

"Abby, where did you get all of these caffeine drinks?" Tali whispered, trying to grab it out of her hand.

"MINE!" Abby growled, pulling her drink out of Tali's reach, making her fall forward between their desks.

"Is there a problem, ladies?" Ms. Cassidy asked, walking up to their desks. Tali smiled politely.

"No, we are very sorry Ms. Cassidy, this will not happen again." She apologized, turning to glare at Abby as she gasped. Ms. Cassidy nodded and turned to Abby.

"No drinks other than water allowed in the classroom, Ms. Gibbs. I am sorry." And with that, Ms. Cassidy took the caf-pow right out of Abby's hands, dropping it into the trash bin before returning to her podium. Abby whimpered pathetically and hung her head. Tali chuckled and turned to Abby, who was glaring at her.

"What?" Tali asked, frowning slightly. "It is not my fault that your… caf-pow was taken." Abby shook her head.

"You apologized." She explained. Tali's eyebrows furrowed and she tilted her head slightly to the side.

"Don't apologize; it's a sign of weakness. It's one of my dad's rules." She explained again, starting to bounce in her seat again. Tali snorted at the rule and idly wondered when Abby would come down from her caffeine high.

* * *

"Oh! We can watch a James Bond movie!" Tony offered excitedly as everyone piled into his car; Abby and Tali in the back, With Ziva in the passenger seat. Tony didn't notice how Abby did not even fight for her front seat, or that her eyelids drooped slightly.

"What is James Bond?" Ziva asked furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. Tony gaped at her, feigning shock.

"What? Aww come on! You know, 'the name's Bond, James Bond.'" Tony explained, giving her his best Sean Connery impression. "Everyone knows about James Bond!" Tali shook her head, chuckling lightly.

"We do not know about James Bond, Tony." She stated from the backseat, where Abby was now sleeping. Tali chuckled again while Tony gasped dramatically.

"Well then, you'll be educated in everything Bond by the end of the night!" Tony exclaimed, pulling out of his parking space and putting his car into drive.

* * *

**Anyway, I know this is a long shot, but I'm willing to take a risk: if I get up to fifty reviews before Saturday, I'll update then, otherwise, you'll all have to wait until next week… so:**

"**To review or not to review, that is the question!" – Sbteja**

**Okay! So next chapter will have some Tiva, and a bit of McAbby!**


	6. Fights

**Okay, this fic's gonna change from a k+ rating to a T rating in this chapter because of language and future Tony flashbacks that include child and spousal abuse… so, you won't find this in the K+ section anymore… anyway, there's gonna be a big surprise in this chapter because we all know that, in the end, frightening situations bring people closer together… plus, I like throwing things at Tony and writing him out of it!**

**Disclaimer:**

**Auctioneer: NCIS! Going once, going twice!**

**Me: Ooh! Ooh! I'll give you *counts all money* my life savings! $700!**

**Everyone: *laugh and point***

**Me: what?**

**Auctioneer: we started the bidding at $20,000,000…**

**Me: Oh…**

**So, due to obvious lack of money, I do not own NCIS, nor will I ever… unfortunately…**

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Ziva snored lightly, resting against Tony's side as his arm was casually thrown over her shoulder, pulling her closer. All teenagers were asleep. Abby's head was on Tim's lap, who was leaning on the couch that he sat in front of. Tali was occupying the couch with Tony and Ziva, her hand lazily tossed over the edge and brushing Abby's back occasionally as her body rose and fell with each breath.

It was 0100hrs, as the movie replayed for the fourth time, untouched by anyone since they had fallen asleep after the second time. Tim joined the group moments after they got home, seeing as Tony knew about his friend's crush on his sister… well, tonight he felt like being generous.

Tali mumbled in her sleep as the figures in the movie flashed across the screen, the television being the only source of light in the house. Her mumbling caused Abby to shift in Tim's lap and she also mumbled something incoherently before the soft purr of an engine made Ziva's eyes snap open.

She looked around alertly for a moment and then at Tony. She smiled and snuggled closer to his chest, and his arm tightened around her. She stiffened, fearing that she had woken him, but his grip softened and he sighed.

"Ziva…" he murmured softly, leaning his head on hers. Ziva smiled again and closed her eyes, nearly drifting off to sleep when the lights flickered on.

* * *

"Special Agent Gibbs, Director Gibbs, please take a seat." Eli greeted as the two NCIS people walked into his office, a serious expression on each of their faces as they remembered to keep this meeting professional. They both took a seat—reluctantly for Jethro—and waited for Eli to speak again.

"Yes, anyway. I am concerned… for my daughter's relations with your son, Anthony. She understands that we must keep strictly professional relationships with others, especially your family, if we are to move back to Israel and start her training after next year. I am not so sure that Anthony understands our circumstances, and Ziva is only doing so to spite me." He spoke quickly and softly in his smooth Israeli accent. Jethro nodded solemnly and Jenny looked surprised, and a bit upset that Ziva could be the girl that Tony was so excited about. His happiness meant everything to her, and Ziva would leave soon…

"Tony understands." Jethro grunted, narrowing his eyes slightly, observing the older man before him. Eli nodded.

"Yes, I see. But, my Ziva has not been home, as far as I know, and she could easily have been meeting up with your Anthony." Jenny frowned at this and shook her head.

"I assure you that Tony has been in his room, only leaving for School. I even bring food up there for him to eat, since he refuses to come down. His room is on the second floor, so there is no way he could leave through a window without hurting himself…" she trailed off, glancing quickly at her husband. Jethro's eyes had widened slightly, and his lips had turn down around the corners, but nothing too noticeable as he realized that Tony could have went through the window.

Eli nodded again, frowning slightly as he detected a lie somewhere in her words. Jenny was quick to convince him.

"I am positive that Ziva has not been in Tony's room, and that Tony has not left the house. I would hear his music playing, and he would answer if I called him. So, Ziva could be at someone else's house." Eli considered this briefly and shook his head.

"No. She has only conversed with Anthony and Abigail. No others." Jethro and Jen shared a look before standing.

"We will tell you if we see her. Good night." Jenny said, heading towards the door. Eli smiled and nodded before waving them out.

On the car ride home, Jen hoped that Tony had not disobeyed his father's orders, and yet, she hoped he had. It was nice that Tony has been happy lately, until Jethro gave him the talk about Ziva. Of course Tony fought back, but deep down, she knew that Tony would listen to everything that Jethro said. This is why the scene at the house was so unbelievable.

* * *

"What the hell is this?" Jethro shouted as he turned on the lights. Immediately Ziva jumped up and away from Tony, her hand jerking instinctively to her waist where her knife was concealed. Tony's head shot up when his father yelled, and Ziva jumping away from him didn't help convince him that it was a dream. He stood protectively, in front of Ziva partially; his hand on his pocket, where his knife was (one of his dad's rules) and he raised his eyebrows, silently asking his parents what they would do.

Abby and Tali jumped up as well, at the sound of Jethro's voice. Abby's eyes were wide as she too went behind Tony. Tali inched behind Ziva, concerned as to what would happen to them.

McGee looked up at Gibbs in a daze, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he scrambled to his feet, looking around at where they were. They all stood there for a moment, frozen in shock, and fear. Finally Jethro spoke up.

"Well?" he asked, anger raging in his voice. "Will anyone answer my question?" He looked at Tony, who visibly cringed under his father's glare.

"Uh, we were just watching a movie, dad…" he trailed off.

"Yeah!" Abby squeaked, coming to her brother's rescue. "We invited a few friends over to watch a movie." Gibbs glare softened for a moment on his daughter's face, having a natural week spot for his youngest daughter. It quickly went away when he saw Ziva.

"Tony, what did I tell you?" he asked in monotone. Tony didn't have to look at his father to know who his stare had landed on.

"I told you, I don't care." Tony answered defiantly, his voice wavering once. McGee swallowed and spoke up.

"I, uh, think I should go…" he trailed off and headed towards the front door. No one made a move to stop him.

"Wimp." Tony muttered under his breath, but his old man heard him. Jethro's glare turned murderous.

"It doesn't matter if you don't care. My house. My rules." he nearly yelled. Tony's eyes narrowed.

"And if I move out?" he yelled, taking a step forward. Jenny's eyes widened and she placed a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"Jethro…" she warned, but he ignored her. He had now unleashes the full wrath of the 'Gibbs glare'. Tony flinched slightly, but didn't back down.

"Tony, I am your father. Listen to me, now. I gave you a direct order, and you disobeyed me." he spoke softer now, but still maintained the Gibbs stare. Tony shook his head slowly.

"No, you're not." He stated. "My father, my _real_ father, was a bastard. You may be a hell of a better father than him, but you'll never _really_ be my dad…" he trailed off and shook his head before starting up again with a harsher tone.

"You think you know what's best for me? I need to make my own decisions, my own mistakes! You can't tell me who to be friends with! My whole life, you've been treating me like one of your agents, now you treat me like a kid. Well, newsflash! I'm not a kid anymore! My eighteenth birthday is in a month! You've wasted my childhood making me an adult, and now, you think you have the same control over me as you would a preschooler! You DON'T! I DO NOT BELONG TO YOU, DAD! Your AGENTS do. NOT ME!" Tony was breathing heavily, seething with anger as he finished telling his dad off.

Jethro looked absolutely shocked, and he took an involuntary step back before putting on his usual expressionless mask.

"Tali, Ziva. Go home." He said in a cold voice. No one moved.

"Did it sound like a question?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. Ziva shook her head calmly and stood up straight, grabbing Tali's wrist.

"Laila Tov, Tony." She whispered, pecking him on the cheek. Tali waved timidly to everyone and they left. Tony only glared at his father, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Tony." Gibbs stated his name in a monotone. "Go to your room." Tony stood there for a second, but huffed and left anyway. The fight was over, Ziva was gone, so there was nothing left he could say.

He fell down onto his bed and stared at the ceiling, numbly watching as the blades on his ceiling fan rotate.

After Tony had a chance to cool down, he was instantly overcome by a feeling of regret. He had just told his dad that he wasn't his father. Tony sighed and rubbed his hand down his face, thinking. He and his father had always been close, and many times Tony had told him that he wanted to be an agent. _His_ agent. His dad had always chuckled at that when Tony was seven or eight, but when he had told his dad at age fifteen, and sixteen, there was a special glint in his eyes, and a different smirk on his face. Not the usual amused one, but a proud one. And now Tony had gone and put his foot in his mouth by yelling at him. It wouldn't make a difference; all of the things were true, in a way. Tony had always been treated like a son, of course, but he never remembered any kid in his second grade through junior class running courses like a marine, or firing a gun at the range. And he had never seen another kid who carried a knife since fifth grade. He even remembered how his father had to talk to the principal about it, saying that Tony would not randomly kill a kid during school. At this, Tony laughed, but it was interrupted by a faint tapping noise on his window. He smiled and walked over.

But the face that he expected was not there.

"Hey, son." Enrico DiNozzo greeted; an evil grin on his face as he entered Tony's room through the window. Tony's eyes widened and he backed away. His father's face was different, distorted with age and beer. He looked like he hadn't shaved in weeks, and his eyes were blood-shot.

"W-w-what are y-y-you d-doing he-here?"

* * *

Jethro sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Jenny sat beside him on the bed. She sighed.

"Jethro, I think you were too hard on him. It doesn't matter if Tony is Ziva's friend, does it?" she asked quietly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Jethro smiled sadly at her and shook his head.

"No, but it matter's to Eli David: Ziva's father and Deputy Director of Mossad." He answered solemnly, a small smirk on his face. Jenny scoffed.

"We could talk to him, I mean, why would it bother him so much?" she asked, pulling her hair out of its ponytail. He smiled more fully at her.

"For now, we should just let it slide and not tell Eli." Jethro sighed, stretching out on their bed.

"Jethro, as NCIS director I cannot allow you to do that…" she warned playfully. He smirked.

"Since when do I follow your rules, Jen?" he asked, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. At least, he was trying to sleep before his phone went off. Jenny sighed as he pulled it to his ear.

"Gibbs."

* * *

"What? You don't want to see your old man?" Enrico chuckled and advanced, making Tony step back into the wall. "tsk, tsk, Tony. It seems you'll never change." Tony pulled out his knife then, and moved towards the door.

"They told me you were dead." He stated in a monotone, realization sinking in. Enrico smirked wickedly.

"They lied, Tony. Only family will tell you the truth." He paused and chuckled. "Not even your little Israeli girlfriend can help you." Tony's eyes widened.

"Where is she?" he demanded, taking a step forward and raising a shaking knife. His former-father laughed drunkenly and reached out to grab Tony's arm. Tony struggled to pull away and cut Enrico slightly with his knife, as a warning. Enrico ignored this as he leaned down to whisper in his son's ear.

"I saw her climbing up here, and questioned her." He paused to chuckle, again. "She must have noticed our family resemblence, and as soon as she recognzed me, she ran off." Tony yanked away from his biological father, pointing his knife at him again.

"She probably doesn't care about you. Ran off to save her own behind, now does _that_ sound like a good friend to you?" Enrico asked in an amused tone. Tony tried to bite back the anger he felt boiling inside him.

"Shut up!" he yelled, and Enrico was over to him, quickly putting his hand over Tony's mouth.

"Quiet now, we don't want those NCIS parents of yours hearing you." Tony bit down hard on Enrico's hand, causing him to howl with pain, drawing back a now bloody hand.

"Dammit, boy! No wonder your girlfriend left you!" He all but yelled, forgetting the NCIS agents. Tony scowled.

"She didn't leave!" he shouted.

"Tony?" Jethro Gibbs called from the other side of the door.

"DAD—!" Tony's mouth was blocked by his former-father's hand, while the other grabbed the knife.

Jethro bursted in with his gun drawn, obviously aware that something was not right. His eyes narrowed when he saw Enrico DiNozzo, and he trained his gun on the man's head.

"Lower your gun, Jethro." Enrico warned, bringing Tony's knife to his throat. Gibbs remained in position, refusing to move or say a word. Enrico somehow found this funny, and started to laugh a bit. Tony grimaced as the stench of alcohol went into his nose.

"Now your 'so called' father won't lower his gun when I threaten you. Jeez, Tony. What'd you do to piss off everyone?" he asked, fighting back a hysteric laugh. "Maybe you are just like me!" That did it.

"NO!" Tony yelled, stomping on Enrico's foot and elbowing him in an unpleasant place. Enrico immediately dropped the knife and yelled out, doubling over in pain as Tony ran over to his father.

"TONY! YOU LITTE RAT!" Enrico yelled, reaching out to grab the knife he dropped. Tony walked over and stepped on his injured hand. Enrico hissed in pain, struggling to withdraw his hand.

"I am not like you!" Tony stated firmly before reaching down to grab the knife. He stepped off of Enrico and went back behind Jethro, who still had his gun on the man. Jethro smirked.

"That's my boy." He stated smugly before handing the gun over to Tony. Tony grasped it firmly in his hands while his father walked over to handcuff Enrico.

"You carry around handcuffs, dad?" Tony asked, confused. Jethro smirked.

"Always be prepared. I think it's a rule." Tony frowned.

"Seriously? Because, how would you know to bring handcuffs up to my room? And a gun? You usually leave them downstairs…" Tony trailed off as his father shot him a 'not now' look.

"Okay, okay." He surrendered as his father pushed Enrico through the door. Jethro stopped to whisper something in Tony's ear.

"Your girlfriend called me, Tony. She's waiting outside in the yard." Tony grinned widely and ran to his window, climbing out on the roof.

"Ziva?" Tony asked quietly. Hearing a silent chuckle from behind him, Tony whirled and found Ziva on the roof above his room. He smiled at her and quickly climbed up to join her.

"Thank you!" he nearly shouted, pulling her in for a tight hug. Ziva returned the hug for a moment and pulled back. She smiled at him.

"Yes, when I recognized… Mr. DiNozzo… I ran to my car, taking a short cut through the forest." She shrugged. "my phone was in there." At this, Tony laughed, clutching at his sides for air, only stopping when he saw Ziva staring at him with wide eyes.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked, looking behind him. No one was there. He felt Ziva's hand on his shoulder.

"Tony?" she asked quietly, calmly. "Does… does that hurt?" she asked, pointing to a nice gash in his right side. Tony cursed under his breath and took off his shirt, exposing the cut skin. The gash was about five inches long, and not that deep, but from the way it looked now—all covered in blood—it looked serious.

"Must have happened when he took my knife from me…" Tony muttered, to himself mostly. Ziva ignored his comment and grabbed his shirt. She rolled her eyes at his protests and pressed the fabric to his wound, bringing his hands to it as well so that he held it. She then let go, and Tony was pressing the bloodied shirt to his cut. Ziva smiled slightly and climbed onto the lower part of the roof, near Tony's window.

"Ziva?" Tony asked as she slipped into his window. He sighed and looked out front, where an NCIS vehicle was pulling up. He could barely make out the silhouettes of his father and Enrico enter the truck. And then, he watched it pull away.

"Tony?" Ziva asked quietly, startling Tony as she now sat directly behind him with a first aid kit. He sighed and allowed her to clean his cut, wincing when it would sting, or squirming slightly when it would itch. At this, Ziva would laugh or lightly hit his arm and continue.

When they were finished, Tony had gauze wrapped around his abdomen and then looped a few times up over his right shoulder. He stretched a bit, to test it out and grinned, enveloping Ziva in another hug.

"Thank you." He whispered into her hair. "If you didn't call, I don't know what would have happened…" he trailed off shuddering slightly at the thought. Ziva pulled back and smiled at Tony.

"You are welcome." She responded before pressing her lips quickly to Tony's. But, before he could respond, she pulled away.

"I am sorry, Tony. I was not thinking…" she trailed off looking down with an almost frustrated frown on her face. Tony smiled and lifted her chin, so that his eyes gazed into hers. He seemed to search for something in her eyes, and then, ever so carefully, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers once more.

* * *

**And there you have it! I was about to go to bed before I was done with this chapter, because of school, but I thought 'I need to finish this chapter tonight!' and so I did! Yay! Review please! I love them, I hope you guys know that… because some apparently think the opposite, judging by the amount of reviews I get, and the amount of viewers I have, obviously the majority of you think I do not like reviews… please? Just one simple little review? Seriously! You could type a simple 'good' or 'bad', as long as I get some feedback here! After that single word, you could go back to reading fanfiction, eating your fruit, unicycling, watching television, or some combination of the four! I just need your opinion!**


	7. Aftermath

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: Hey, hey, look, auction guy, I sold all my possessions and all my sister's possessions, and I think I have enough!**

**Auctioneer: Oh… uh, sorry… I kinda already sold it… maybe you should ask them…**

**Me: do you think they would sell it to me?**

**Auctioneer: No**

**Me: will you tell me who it is anyway?**

**Auctioneer: No**

**Me: *sigh…***

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Ziva groaned as the light from her window shone onto her face, and rolled into the comfortable arms of the person next to her. She smiled as she snuggled into the warm embrace, only breaking into reality when the arms tightened slightly in response; she didn't have a window! Ziva gasped as her eyes snapped open, only to be met by green ones. They blinked with curiosity and wariness before crinkling with amusement.

"Good morning." Tony chuckled, nuzzling his face into the crook of Ziva's neck. She smiled and breathed in his scent before, regretfully, pulling away.

"Hey!" Tony whined, blindly reaching for her as she left the bed. Ziva chuckled and bent down to his level.

"Yes Tony?" She whispered, her breath fanning his face. Ziva watched as Tony's eyes snapped open, and could almost hear the thoughts that were going through his head as emotions flashed across his face. After a few seconds of silence, the smartest reply Tony could think of was: "uh"

Ziva let out a small laugh and moved over to Tony's closet, going through it for a t-shirt and shorts to replace her dirty, blood stained clothes. After settling on some white boxers and Tony's OSU shirt, she left to change, leaving Tony to his thoughts.

Tony watched as Ziva left, smiling as he sat up slightly, only to wince from the stabbing pain in his side. He frowned at this and looked down at his wrapped abdomen, rubbing it lightly with his hand.

"It didn't hurt last night…" he murmured to himself as he winced again at another flash of pain, followed by memories from the previous night.

"_Hey son."_

"_What? You don't want to see your old man?"_

"_Maybe you are just like me…"_

Tony shook his head, ridding his head of those thoughts.

"Tony?" A small voice whispered, and his head snapped up, his frown turning to a full out grin as he saw Ziva standing there, clad in his OSU t-shirt and his boxers.

"Lookin' good Zee-vah." Tony commented, stretching her name out playfully. Ziva rolled her eyes and strolled over to the bed before sitting directly in front of Tony to check his wound. Her breath caught as she unwrapped his bandages, revealing a long gash in his side. Somehow, in the light of the morning, it seemed larger. Apparently Tony had the same thought.

"Shit!" he exclaimed in a loud whisper, causing Ziva to chuckle slightly as she retrieved the first-aid kit she stowed under Tony's bed. He winced dramatically as she applied the rubbing alcohol, causing her to roll her eyes.

"Didn't you put that on last night?" Tony whined, flinching away from the stinging fluid. Ziva chuckled slightly and pressed the cleaner covered cloth a bit harder onto the cut.

"Ouch!" Tony yelped and jumped up, his hands coming to his side protectively. Ziva sighed.

"Now come on, Tony. If I do not do this, it will get infected. Do you want that?" she asked, a smirk forming on her face at the thought. Tony frowned and sat back down on the bed, leaning his chin in his hands.

"No…" he mumbled, focusing on an invisible spot on the wall. Ziva smirked more openly and continued her ministrations.

* * *

Abby yawned as she heard a shout come from her brother's room and sighed. Mumbling about never getting sleep in this house, she got up and walked to the window. The sun was peaking over the horizon only slightly. Abby yawned and grumbled again before walking back over to her bed. She sat down and looked over at her bedside numbly, where her cell phone and a lamp sat.

Not really seeing much else to do, Abby grabbed her cell phone off of the table and turned it on, immediately being greeted by one text. Abby frowned in confusion and opened it up:

"From: Tim

Good Morning Abby"

Abby smiled as she texted back a quick reply and closed her phone. Tim was so cute.

* * *

Jethro took another gulp of the bourbon, quickly finishing the glass as he continued to work on his boat, mulling over the events of the night before…

"_Gibbs." Jethro had answered when his phone rang, only slightly aware of his wife's sigh in the background._

"_Gibbs!" Ziva whispered hastily, causing a ripple of fear to shudder unnoticeably through him. That wasn't a good sign._

"_What's wrong Ziver?" he asked, hoping for the best. Jenny sat up further and leaned against Jethro to hear the conversation._

"_It's Tony." she breathed, making Jenny gasp. "His-his… father is there, now! I saw him climbing up to the second floor!"_

"_I'm on it!" Gibbs answered sternly, hanging up the phone before retrieving his gun from under his pillow, along with the spare handcuffs in his closet._

Jethro shook his head slowly and poured himself another glass of bourbon.

* * *

McGee groaned as he heard his cell phone buzz on the bedside table. He rolled over, carelessly flopping his arm out to grab his phone, and somehow managed to grab it.

"Tim McGee." He answered lazily, holding the phone up to his ear. When no answer came he looked at the screen through half lidded eyes.

"One Text from Abby"

Immediately, Tim sat up and ran a hand through his hair, as if Abby could see him through the phone.

"Good morning Timmy, Can't wait to see you this afternoon :)"

"Yes!" McGee cheered, jumping out of his bed with a goofy grin on his face. But somehow, as he jumped out of bed, his foot caught on the end of his pants, causing him to fall down to his floor with a loud thump. Tim groaned.

"Timothy?" his mom shouted from down stairs "Are you alright, honey?" Tim groaned once again and propped himself up.

"I'm fine mom!" he yelled back before realization hit him like a wrecking ball. He was going to see Abby today.

* * *

Tali grumbled incoherently as she heard the doorbell ring downstairs.

"FATHER, ZIVA; DOOR!" she yelled pathetically, pulling the blankets over head. When no one responded she groaned again.

"Who would visit this early anyway?" She shouted, mostly to herself. An invisible chuckle sounded behind her and she whirled around in her bed, effectively wrapping herself in a giant cocoon before tumbling onto the floor.

"Owww…" she groaned, desperately trying to wiggle free. Then the chuckle came again… that damned chuckle…

"I did not think I would see the day where Ziva David lost a fight against her bed sheets..." the smooth Israeli voice spoke, with yet another chuckle. Tali sat up, still swathed in her comforter, and gasped at the person before her.

"ARI!" She shouted, desperately trying to wriggle free. Ari gasped dramatically and leaned down to her face level.

"Natali David, is that _you_?" He grinned widely and embraced the young teen.

* * *

**Again, I know, this is a short chapter, but it only prepares for the awesome chapter I have planned next. It has some guaranteed Tiva, as well as some McAbby. I'm not sure if we should have any Kari... So I'll think on it...**


	8. Nightmares

**Before you read the story I want to thank one major reviewer that helped me out BIG TIME, and I probably wouldn't have updated until Christmas if it weren't for... (drumroll please!) theaterinspired! Hooray for you (honestly, you really helped me here)! So let's all thank theaterinspired for this chapter!**

**~Sbteja**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *sighs dejectedly* Lucy… You know how much I want NCIS, right?**

**Lucy: *Bark! Bark!***

**Me: good, but you think I could get it one day, right?**

**Lucy: *Bark!***

**Me: Yeah, I know 'don't get my hopes up', but is it possible?**

**Lucy: *whines and crawls under the couch***

**Me: *Sigh* I thought so…**

**Well, even my dog knows I don't own NCIS… it's kinda sad if you think about it…**

* * *

_He was alone. That, Tony Gibbs was sure of; but as his vision gradually started to bring his mind out of the darkness that physically surrounded him, he was not as sure of where he was anymore. _

_Tony squinted his eyes, commanding his vision to improve, yet the most he could make out were the silhouettes of objects that lay within a three foot radius; only one yard. To his left, from what he could see, was a couch; its size was not great, so Tony assumed it to be a loveseat. Next to the couch was a small side-table, and what looks to be like a broken lamp. To his left, he saw the remains of an old flat screen, seeming as if it were thrown against the wall and forgotten; it's screen only having a spider-web crack as a reminder._

_As his eyes adjusted, Tony could see the edges of a counter about two yards in front of him, and the details of the couch became known as Tony stared directly at an old leather that seemed eerily familiar. Naturally, instinctively, Tony took a step back and nearly tripped; his heel hitting something hard that lay close to the floor. He whirled around in an alert stance and glanced down, only to find the object indiscernible._

_Slowly, curiosity getting the better of him, Tony knelt down and cautiously laid his hand on the end of what had to be something at least five foot four. He frowned in confusion as his hand came into contact with rubber and a cloth like material… and string? Tony ventured further and recoiled, quickly withdrawing his hand as he let out an 'unmanly' shriek of terror._

_The object was a person._

_Tony was shivering now as he began to recognize the woman and all the blood drained from his face._

"_No, no, no, no…" he muttered, over and over again, his body shaking violently as if he were in Alaska in only his swim trunks. An almost evil sounding laughter was heard behind him, and Tony whirled once again; his eyes wide, searching for the source of the noise._

"_I see you've found your mother, Tony." Enrico DiNozzo laughed as he sauntered out of the shadows and over to Tony. Tony was instantly filled with another wave of fear tinged with only a small amount of anger._

"_W-w-what are y-y-you d-doing he-here?" He asked. Enrico chuckled and shook his head slowly._

"_First my son rejects me, and now that son asks me what I'm doing in my own house?" Tony's eyes widened and he glanced around quickly, yet warily, his eyes always returning to his former father before flickering to somewhere else. His eyes landed once again on his mother and anger rose briefly inside of him._

"_What did you do to her?" he nearly shouted, surprising himself at his new confidence. Enrico however found it a little less than amusing and walked up to his son. Tony froze as his biological father's alcoholic breath encased his right ear._

"_Nothing you won't do." he whispered, stepping back with a smirk on his face._

"_W-what?" Tony stuttered, backing away from the man and once again, nearly tripping over his mother. Reflexively, Tony turned around and gasped. It wasn't his mother. Tears streamed silently down his cheeks as he fell to the floor, clutching his sides. Enrico threw back his head and howled in laughter, only causing Tony's anger to flare once again._

"_WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!" he roared, standing protectively over the new body on the ground. For a reason unknown to Tony, Enrico laughed louder. Tony growled and lunged forward, knocking the old man into the counter behind them._

"_ANSWER ME!" Tony commanded, clutching the neck of his former father's shirt. Enrico's laughter only got louder._

"_Me?" he choked out. "I did nothing!" Tony's eyes widened as he backed away numbly, recognition falling over his face, his biological father's laughter filling his ears as he stared down into the dead eyes of Ziva David._

"_Maybe you are just like me!"_

"NO!" Tony yelled as he sat up in his bead; beads of sweat pouring down his face as if he just ran a marathon. His eyes darted around the room nervously as he waited for the man he knew would come.

"Tony?" Tony nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard the tiny voice, as well as felt a hand on his. He looked over to find an alert Ziva, who also glanced around the room, looking for the cause of his distress. Without warning, Tony wrapped his arms around her tightly and sobbed into her shoulder.

"Tony?" She asked again, wide-eyed at his outburst.

"I'm so sorry, so very sorry…" he whispered into her neck, hugging her closer to his body. Ziva furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as he pulled her down from their sitting position.

"Why are you sorry, Tony?" she murmured into his ear. Tony only shook his head against her skin.

"So very sorry…"

* * *

Jenny hummed contentedly from her position in Jethro's arms as the light of another day spilled into her room through the window. Jethro chuckled.

"Good morning." He murmured, nuzzling her neck. She sighed and snuggled further into his embrace, making Jethro chuckle once again.

They sat like that for a few moments before Jethro finally sighed.

"We need to get up, Jen." He whispered, though he too held her tighter. Jenny smiled.

"But it's not a school day…" she whined playfully, putting a smug smile on Jethro's face. He sighed and pulled away nonetheless, making Jenny sigh in response. It was then that the two heard Tony yell from upstairs. Jen froze as Jethro went to grab his SIG.

"Stay." He commanded before dashing out of the room. Jethro immediately went to the door of Tony's room, this was the routine for him; every night, Tony would scream, and every night, Gibbs would come up. But to him, it was worth it. Because the one day that Jethro didn't come, would be the day that Tony was in real danger. Jethro sighed at this and pressed his ear against the door.

"_Tony?" _He heard Ziva's startled voice, and then muffled cries. Jethro frowned and listened further.

"_I'm so sorry, so very sorry…"_ he heard Tony's voice barely and had to listen harder.

"_Why are you sorry, Tony?"_ Ziva asked.

"_So very sorry…"_ came Tony's faint whisper… and then, nothing. Jethro waited a few minutes until he could hear a soft snore coming from someone. Jethro smiled briefly before turning back around. He walked back into his room and fell onto the bed with a sigh, burying his face in the pillow.

"Is everything ok, Jethro?" Jenny asked quietly, rubbing his back. Jethro looked up at her with a slight 'Gibbs smile' on his face. Jenny nodded, and stood to get ready.

"We need to get up, Jethro." She said, repeating his words from earlier. Jethro only groaned.

* * *

Ziva smiled sadly as she watched Tony sleep calmly; for she knew it would only last a short period of time. Tony's nightmares had only increased ever since the run in with Mr. DiNozzo, and there was nothing she could do but sit and watch. It became routine of her, to watch after he had his first nightmare of the night, or morning in this case, but she was getting worried that this may never go away; after all, it had been three weeks.

Although the nightmares were becoming more frequent, Ziva was at least thankful that none had been as bad as his worst.

Ziva shuddered as she remembered the first, and most terrible, nightmare Tony had…

_Ziva sighed exasperatedly as she turned over in her bed once again. Her once comfortable resting place had now become the worst, because it wasn't Tony's…_

_Ziva immediately scoffed at the thought and turned back over, listening as the springs squeaked in protest. Ziva was no longer allowed at the DiNozzo house unless it was for school or her father's work related reasons; courtesy of her father. _

_Unfortunately after Mr. DiNozzo had left, her father had heard of this, and questioned why she was at the Gibbs household as all. _

_Ziva shook her head, trying to rid her memory of the argument… and turned over again. _

"_ARRGHH!" she whisper-shouted, sitting up straight in bed before throwing her covers off. She had to see Tony. Ziva mentally scolded herself for being so dependent on him, but it was the sad truth, so she lied to herself; saying that she was only going to check up on him._

_Ziva immediately was aware that something was wrong as she reached the Gibbs household, and immediately parked her car a few blocks away before running towards the house. Inside, she could barely hear the sounds of muffled screams, to which, she instantly knew, belonged to Tony._

_Without a moment's hesitation, she climbed up to the roof to peer cautiously into Tony's window. The sight before her was nearly heartbreaking:_

_Tony screamed and writhed in his sleep, crying out as sobs ripped through his chest and tears streamed out of his eyes. His bed was surrounded by his family, but they couldn't seem to comfort or wake him; it only looked to get worst._

"_NO!" Tony would cry out, if one touched him. "HE'S GOING TO KILL HER!" and then he'd squirm against his bed sheets as though they were restraining him. _

_Ziva's mind and heart battled internally. Her heart screamed for her to rush in there and soothe him, while her mind told her not too; saying that his family would only tell her father. The two were neck and neck, so all she could do was sit there numbly as she watched her best friend go through hell. _

_She watched as Jenny cried her eyes out, trying to reassure him of everyone's safety; hugging him and kissing his face. She watched as Jethro shook his son desperately; trying to get him to waken. And lastly, she watched Abby watch silently with tears streaming down her face; every scream that came from her brother's mouth, she would wince. Finally, Ziva's resolve wavered after Jethro pulled out his cell phone, and Tony began screaming more furiously._

"_ZIVA!" he shouted, making her freeze as her breath caught in her throat._

"_ZIVA! HE'S GOING TO KILL ZIVA!" Tony shouted once more; and she yanked open his window without second thought; leaping in quickly and rushing to his side._

_Jenny turned to look at her in shock, but it dissolved into a pleading look as her only son cried out again. Abby cried out in surprise, and ran over to embrace her friend; sobbing into her shoulder. Jethro glanced over at her quizzically, but said nothing as he continued to dial on his phone. Ziva turned to face Tony with a pained look on her face; he was still writhing and would cry out every few seconds. Mostly it was her name, but other times it was only a strangled cry of the agony that was written all over his handsome face._

_Ziva reached out and grabbed his hand before standing over him to whisper in his ear._

"_Shh, Tony." She cooed, causing his to stop shouting. "I am here, I am fine."_

_Almost instantly, Tony's face relaxed and his writhing stopped. Ziva smiled sadly and withdrew her hand, causing Tony to whimper._

"_No, Ziva," he pleaded, "stay with me…" Ziva froze, unsure of what to do, and looked up into the eyes of Jenny Gibbs. She smiled at Ziva sadly and nodded, embracing her._

"_Thank you." She whispered in Ziva's ear, making Ziva smile a little more. She glanced around the room to see Abby sleeping against the wall behind her, and Jethro staring at her, raised eyebrow, and phone against his ear._

"_Never mind, Duck." He said into the phone, before snapping it shut and turning to leave with a small smirk on his face. Jenny followed quietly, towing along a half-asleep Abby._

_Ziva smiled softly and climbed quietly into Tony's bed, Tony immediately recognized her presence and wrapped his arms around her, smiling into her neck._

"_Thank you…" he whispered, before sleep had claimed them both._

After that, Ziva was allowed to spend the nights over at the Gibbs residence, of course there were arguments when her father learned of this; but somehow Gibbs had talked her out of it… for now.

Because for now she would focus on the boy that lay next to her, encircling her with his arms, and for now, he was more important.

* * *

**YAY! TONY'S OKAY! (sort of...) Coming up next… nah, I'm going to let it be a surprise… sorry. There aren't that many big surprises in life, and I'm not going to take one away from you! ;P ****But, I will give a hint on the next chapter for whoever gets this answer right first :D Plus, I will dedicate the next chapter to you, for your awesome smartness! So here's the question:**

'**2 fathers and 2 sons go fishing; and each of them catches one fish. So when they all put their fish in one bag, how come there is only three?'**


	9. Ponderings

**Okay, I had some troubles with the internet, but I AM BACK! Yay, Hooray! Okay, this chapter is going to introduce Gibbs' current team and what's going on with Enrico DiNozzo! Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to the first reviewer with the answer to the last chapter's Riddle! Drum Roll Please! Crs529! Yay!**

**~Sbteja**

**Disclaimer:**

_**Owner of NCIS: "Congratulations, we have decided that you should be the owner of NCIS, for your outstanding fanfiction!"**_

_**Me: "Oh My Gosh! Really?"**_

_**Owner of NCIS: "Of course not, NCIS is worth millions of dollars! Why would we give it to a random teenager?"**_

_**Me: "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

**It was then that I sat up in my bed, sweating and gasping for air.**

**Me: "Oh, it was just a dream…" *sigh* "I don't even know who owns NCIS…"**

* * *

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs smiled softly as he exited the elevator today; a rarity that caused most of his co-workers to turn and stare. Of course, he ignored them, and strolled into the bullpen that had been his for nearly ten years now. Without breaking his stride, he walked over to his desk on the far left and set his coffee cup down before turning to the rest of his team… or the people on his team that were on time.

He gave a breathy sigh, dropping the smile and scanned the desks to see who was here. He was not surprised to see Special Agent Lisa Vidad, who usually arrived an hour before Gibbs, typing away on her computer. She looked up sharply, having felt his eyes boring into her, and smiled softly at her boss and fatherly figure in her life. Gibbs nodded in response, and grunted a good morning before turning to the rest of the team.

As expected, Special Agent Jim McGreggor was also typing on at his computer, most likely updating it or doing who-knows-what to make it run better or faster… this was all lost on Gibbs. He gave another good morning to McGreggor, who glanced up in surprise, not noticing his boss' arrival. He smiled sheepishly and waved hello before quickly returning to the job at hand.

It was then that the last member of the team, Special Agent Tommy DiNardo, came jogging into the bullpen, his eyes wide as he scanned the area for his boss. He winced as his eyes landed on Gibbs, and he quickly sat down and turned on his computer.

"Good Morning, DiNardo." Gibbs smirked, bringing his coffee cup to his lips to take a sip. Tommy once again winced as he glanced up at his superior.

"Morning Boss…" he muttered, looking back down at his computer. Gibbs smirked; same old Team. He glanced once again around the bullpen before settling into his own chair and turning on his own computer. He rarely ever used it, but it was best to have it on anyway. Although his team thought he wasn't paying much attention to them as he sipped his coffee and settled further into his seat, the glances between DiNardo and Vidad were not lost on him. He knew that they had been seeing each other behind his back, although his ever strict 'rule number twelve' had been present at all times, he had unfortunately been trying to stop the inevitable.

It was easy at first, seeing as Lisa seemed so repulsed by DiNardo, almost so that a brother-sister relationship seemed to form about them; always arguing, yet always working as a team. It wasn't until the sexual comments and an almost flirty banter would pass between the two that made Gibbs worry a bit.

It's not like Gibbs hadn't seen this coming. He knew that Tommy DiNardo was a playboy, skirt chaser, and he had definitely been interested in Lisa. At first, Gibbs smirked at his attempts to charm her, only for her to brush his comments off with a witty response. After that, it had been strictly business with the two. But soon, they became very close, as one should expect of two partners, but the way they were around each other, how they acted, was something Gibbs had never seen from two partners… that is, until he thought of… Gibbs shook his head, dispelling the memory. He needed to focus on his current case; one that brought a crease to his forehead and a frown on his face.

Enrico DiNozzo had been persistently silent, a fact which angered Gibbs. Then, when that Lawyer Lady came into the picture, everything was turned upside-down. This, normally, would seem like an easy case to Gibbs, yet somehow, when he had his Forensic Specialist, Amy Sutton, run the knife for finger prints, she only came up with his own, and Tony's. It looked like a mistake at first, but none of DiNozzo's fingerprints were found. And now they had no proof that Enrico held the knife at all.

The next thought made Gibbs deepen his frown. Now, that Lawyer would not let Gibbs interrogate Enrico, saying that he only wished to see his son. At this, Gibbs had snorted. It was all too easy; whether or not his beginning intentions, his visit resulted in violence, if you called trespassing a 'visit'. But of course, since Ricardo's fingerprints were not on the widow either, that only led to believe that Tony had let him in. So now, they had no proof that DiNozzo broke in and assaulted Tony.

Gibbs shook his head, questioning the intelligence of the legal system; sometimes two witnesses weren't enough, especially since Tony was, legally, a minor. Thinking of Tony made him ponder his relationship with Ziva David. Every single cell in his mind screamed at him that this was a bad idea, but the way his son looked at her… it was almost identical the way Gibbs looked at Jenny… and this is what troubled him. He knew for a fact that Ziva was leaving in little over a year, limiting her time with Tony, and yet Tony had continued with their relationship. It was a foolish move, knowing that Tony may never see her again, but he had done so anyway. Gibbs shook his head once more, pondering his son's reasoning for putting himself through that pain, only to have her for a short period of time…

And then, the nightmares started. Gibbs could only stand there and watch as his wife and daughter begged for him to awaken… and then she came in, as if she knew what was going on… and Ziva rushed to his bed and calmed him. It was so simple and easy for her to do, and the whole time, her face was contorted in pain… pain for Tony…

But the nightmares still continued and Gibbs had to allow Ziva to stay the night. It seemed like the only way to get them to stop. Of course, Gibbs knew the consequences of his decision, but he trusted his only son. And his instinct to trust him came through.

"Boss." The sound of his Senior Field Agent brought Gibbs out of his trance. He glanced into the excited eyes of Tommy DiNardo and the next three words gave him a small sense of hope. "Amy's got something."

And with that, Gibbs nearly jumped out of his chair and walked quickly over to the elevator, but not before grabbing Amy's usual Caf-Pow! from the break room. As he stepped in, he couldn't help but notice the triumphant smile on DiNardo's face. Gibbs smirked in response; the reason behind the smile was not lost on him. Over the years, Tommy and Tony had developed a brotherly relationship, most likely because they shared the same interests, and when DiNardo first heard of this incident, he was furious. Of course, being involved in putting that bastard in jail, Tommy would be delighted.

The bell-like ding as the elevator came to a stop broke Gibbs from his thoughts. He smirked, and stepped out.

"Whatchya got, Amy?" he asked, turning his jog into his usual stroll as he entered the Lab of Amy. He was greeted by the loud sound of her usual music, blaring throughout the lab, and it reminded him of his own daughter's taste in music.

Amy squealed and turned around, her black pigtails bouncing as she did so, and her ever present dog collar bounced against her neck.

"I've found it!" she exclaimed, turning the music down with a small remote before turning back to her computer. Gibbs walked up behind her, staring in confusion at the monitor.

"And what is _it_, Amy?" he asked gruffly, still scrutinizing the screen in front of him. Amy smiled and turned to face him.

"blood."

* * *

"Call that lawyer." Gibbs demanded as he strolled quickly into the bullpen, yet another coffee cup in his hand. Tommy's head shot up in confusion.

"Boss?" he asked, though his hand started to reach for the phone.

"NOW!" Gibbs commanded. "And tell her we have evidence. I want that lowlife back in my interrogation room!"

* * *

**Riddle of the week:**

"**In marble walls as white as milk,**

**Lined with skin as soft as silk,**

**Within a fountain crystal clear,**

**A golden apple does appear,**

**No doors are there to this stronghold—**

**Yet thieves break in and steal the gold."**


	10. Good Day

**CHAPTER TEN! ALRIGHT! Talk about ontimeness, if that's a word (which I highly doubt). I promised you another chapter today, and here it is! And as for the riddle of the week, I need to give you guys harder ones… so… DRUM ROLL PLEASE! *background drum roll* The winner is! HICKS07! Hooray for you! But, as only one of you has noticed (or has had the bravery to mention to me) I have put another challenge into last chapter. At first, Mr. DiNozzo's name change was an accident, but I decided to wait and see how many people noticed! And I am disappointed; only **_**one person**_** said anything about it! And because of that, this person's username will be placed in this story (as well as our winner!)… for only she has noticed the Enrico for Ricardo swap! (It has been changed back)**

**~Sbteja**

**Disclaimer:**

**Me (at an unnamed bank, 'cause I only advertise for myself) hello, I'd like to take out a loan please!**

**Teller: o…kay…? May I ask what for?**

**Me: Well, seeing as I blew all my savings on Christmas presents, I need money so I can buy the TV show, NCIS. Is that a problem?**

**Teller: *stares blankly***

**Me: umm… do I need to sign anything… or what…? I've honestly never taken out a loan before.**

**Teller: *blinks* Umm… I need to see some identification, please.**

**Me: …Oh… er… I seemed to have left my license at home… oh darn! Do I absolutely need it?**

**Teller: *sighs* Look, kid. How about you go back home to mommy, okay?**

**Me: *huffs indignantly* I, sir, happen to be an adult, and I-**

**My father: Come on, Sarah, let's go home.**

**Me: *sigh* coming dad… **

* * *

Tony smiled. '_Today is a good day.'_ He thought, as he walked towards school, his arm thrown over his girlfriend's shoulder. Girlfriend. _Ziva_ is his _girlfriend._ This made Tony smile wider, and Ziva chuckled, as if reading his mind.

"I assume you are enjoying yourself." she teased, leaning further into him. Tony nodded wholeheartedly, and tightened his arm around her.

"Today is a good day." he repeated out loud, kissing the top of her head. Ziva rolled her eyes and proceeded to ask same question anyone would if they were in her position.

"Why?" Tony gasped dramatically, feigning shock as he gazed down at her.

"You don't know what today is?" he nearly shouted, earning a few stares from his fellow classmates. Ziva quickly covered his mouth, glancing around to make sure no one was paying special attention to their conversation.

"Tony!" she hissed, glaring at him "Do not be so loud!" Tony only chuckled, and pulled her hand slowly from his mouth, cradling it in his two before returning to their earlier arrangement.

"I'm happy, Zee-vah. Today is a good day." Ziva sighed, officially giving up as he once again became loud.

"And why is it a good day, Tony?" she asked politely as they reached her locker. Tony leaned up beside it as she gathered her books.

"You really don't know?" he asked, perplexed. "Most people know this is coming _months_ in advance…" he paused, a thoughtful expression on his face, before grinning again. "Well, then again, you're not like most people." Ziva was only partially listening to him, and nodded every once in a while, so his feelings wouldn't get hurt. Though she loved him, truly, even if she would never admit it under any circumstances, sometimes she needed a break from Tony. Too much Tony could drive her crazy.

"Ziva?" he asked, breaking into her thoughts as she continued to rifle through her locker. She glanced over at him, raising an eyebrow. He looked frustrated, but still happy. '_Today must be very important to him…'_ she mused.

"Are you listening to me?" he asked, a look of hurt crossing his features. Ziva sighed, placing her free hand on his cheek.

"Of course I am, Tony. Now will you tell me what today is?" Tony's expression immediately changed from one of hurt and frustration to one of love and happiness.

"Today is your birthday, Ziva. How could you forget that?" Ziva froze, confusion becoming the dominant emotion before she became neutral.

"It does not matter." She shrugged, turning to close her locker before heading down to homeroom. Tony frowned, running to catch up with her.

"Doesn't matter?" he exclaimed, trying to keep up with her fast pace. "You were BORN today Ziva! If it weren't for today, you wouldn't be here!" Ziva stopped, and turned on her heal before facing him, an almost angry expression on her face.

"Do not yell, Tony!" she growled, glancing around to see if anyone heard before pulling him into the men's restroom. She sighed and locked the door after checking under stalls. Tony felt extremely confused.

"It's your birthday, Zee…" he whispered, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you want to celebrate?" Ziva shook her head, chuckling softly. Now_ he whispers._ She thought sarcastically.

"Tony…" she said, looking up into hurt filled eyes, and instantly felt regret. "I do not wish to celebrate my birthday. It brings up too many bad memories…" Tony frowned again, pulling her against his chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." He whispered into her hair. Ziva smiled and turned up to give him a small kiss.

"Thank you, Tony." she murmured, snuggling further into his embrace. Tony chuckled.

"For bringing up bad memories?" he question, feigning hurt when she his chest. Ziva smiled.

"No. For caring." And with that, she snaked her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. All thoughts of being late for class left her mind.

* * *

Tali sighed, tapping her fingers idly against the keyboard of the computer in front of her as she listed to the computer teacher drone on and on about the important use of the pinky. Honestly, Tali could type perfectly well; a skill that was learned early on in her life. And now, she was completely bored. It was when she started considering the pros and cons of sleeping in class, that she saw the IM symbol on her toolbar had a '1' next to it.

She frowned _'who would message me during school?' _she thought, as she hesitantly opened it.

**ncislover10: (AKA: Abby) ugghh! This is so boring! I wish I could fall asleep!**

Tali giggled silently and typed back a response.

**Hicks07: I know, I wish I could also sleep. Nice username, I like it.**

She only had to wait for a few seconds as the excited clicking of a keyboard stuck out from everyone else's bored pace in the second row.

**ncislover10: thanks, it's the same as my email, even though I am only using this temporary username for the school's computer.**

Tali rolled her eyes and typed back another response.

**Hicks07: mine's a temporary one too, I could not risk logging on with the school's computer. Speaking of which, how did you know which computer number mine is? We got new seats today…**

**ncislover10: …I counted… you would be surprised at how much Caff-Pow has helped me!**

Tali frowned. Caff-Pow! No wonder Abby was responding so fast. She only shook her head and continued their 'illegal' conversation.

**Hicks07: I do not want to know… besides, how could you use your real email for your temporary one? Will they not find out? It is very risky. That is why I did not use my real email…**

**ncislover10: Relax! You need to just chill out. So I heard that today is Ziva's birthday from Tony… what should I get her? OH! And we need to plan a party! Maybe invite everyone from school! It would be so much fun, don't you think?**

Tali's eyes widened, and she typed her answer furiously.

**Hicks07: NO! Ziva does not celebrate her birthday, I told Tony that much. He never listens, does he? But, seriously, we cannot throw a party! She will literally explode! Please do not, Abby. I am begging you!**

**ncislover10: …fine, but I am SO getting her a present… and a cake! We can have a private party! And I can plan it! OH, this will be so much fun! I can't wait to tell Tony**!

Tali sighed and closed the window before the teacher noticed. And as her eyelids fluttered close, her last coherent thought was _'Poor Tony and Ziva'_

* * *

"Just out of curiosity, Tony. Who told you it was my birthday today?" Ziva asked sweetly as they walked hand in hand to his car. Tony grimaced and raised both hands in front of him while still keeping their hands laced.

"Sorry Zee-vah, no-can-do. I was sworn to secrecy." He took their hands and placed it over his heart. "or else, I'd have to stick a needle in my eye." he looked extremely serious. Ziva shrugged.

"You really only need one eye Tony..." she lied, smirking seductively at him. Tony blinked but shook his head.

"Nope, sorry. I need both of them, otherwise I wouldn't be able to see you clearly." Ziva rolled her eyes and placed her hands on his chest once they reached his car. She leaned up to whisper in his ear.

"I'm sure whoever told you would not mind, Tony." she cooed. Tony's eyes widened as his heartbeat accelerated.

"Aww, come on Zee..." he pleaded. "that's cheating." Ziva chuckled softly, making him gasp as the warm air hit his sensitive flesh.

"It was Tali!" he replied without a moment's hesitation. Ziva's smirk deepened.

"Now, that was not very hard, was it Tony?" she murmured before pulling back and lightly thouching his cheek. "good boy." Tony rolled his eyes and shrugged it off before wordlessly climbing into the car. Ziva followed suit.

"That was so not fair..." Tony muttered, acting much like a spoiled child. Ziva laughed and leaned over, giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"There, Tony. Better?" she asked. Tony could only grin.

* * *

**I just want to let you know, that even though I promised a big chapter… it wasn't this one. Sorry, it just wasn't in the cards. And when I started to write this one… well, that's the way it flowed. I will let you know that Gibbs team will be making another appearance soon… maybe even next chapter. But from now on, I will be updating every Saturday, and I will let you know beforehand if I can't, Okay? Good. Alright, here is the riddle of the week:**

'**Old mother Twitchet had one eye,****And a long tail that she let fly,**

**But every time she went through a gap,**

**She left a bit of her tail in the trap.'**

**Who, or what, is Old Mother Twitchet?**


	11. Worried

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: hey Jesus (my lizard… long story), do you think I could own NCIS?**

**Jesus: *silent glare* (like usual…)**

**Me: yes, I understand that, but…**

**Jesus: *silent glare***

**Me: Aww, come on! First Lucy, now you! Why must all my pets think I could never accomplish anything?**

**Jesus: *silent glare***

**Me: shut up…**

**(for those of you who are curious about Jesus' name origin, it's at the end)**

* * *

Jethro Gibbs stood perfectly still; a frown crinkling his brow until he finally brought his cup of cold coffee up for a sip. He coughed in disgust, but was unwilling to make the trip again. In front of him was the father of his adoptive son; the man who caused the retired marine to lose hours of sleep for so many years. And he was there. Right there, only a few feet away, separated by a thin piece of glass. And yet, the man was untouchable.

He watched in pure silence as Lisa Vidad walked in and took a seat; taking a moment to watch her next victim. This made Gibbs smirk internally, though his features showed no change from the usual firm and angry expression he had worn for the past few weeks. Agent Vidad was excellent in interrogation, but once in a while her old Mossad training would kick in, and she would have the suspect in a choke hold in an instant, threatening their life and her job… secretly, Gibbs wished this would happen today. And his wish was granted; not only moments later, Lisa had the man cowering against the wall as she shouted at him, a gun shoved into his temple. Gibbs sighed and pressed the speaker button.

"Special Agent Vidad." he scolded half-heartedly. "We don't want him dead. Yet." And with that, her usual mask was placed over her features once more, and the interrogation continued.

* * *

"Why did you break into the Gibbs household, Mr. DiNozzo?" Special Agent Lisa Vidad asked calmly and coolly, although her instincts screamed at her to kill the man. The one man who had been the focus of her boss for the last eleven years. She had witnessed herself what this man had done to young Tony Gibbs, and she had grown quite fond of the boy as he had grown.

She even remembered when she had pulled the boy out of the bushes, all covered in bruises and covered in leaves and mud… Tony had clung to her shirt in desperation, and she had no idea what to do… he was so broken and hurt, so much different from the Tony she knows and loves today. If she were still in Mossad, this man would be dead... Lisa took a moment to think of the best way to kill the man… three bullets in the chest? No, that would give him an easy way out… the best would be to shoot him twice in the stomach, and let him die slowly and painfully…

A drunken cough broke Agent Vidad out of her thoughts, and she looked over at the man, letting her disgust for him show on her face. He smiled at her and leaned forward, whispering hoarsely.

"You know, after this whole thing, you could get a drink with me and—" Lisa cut him off by banging the table with a closed fist.

"Why did you break into Special Agent Gibbs' home, Mr. DiNozzo?" she asked once again, acid leaking into her voice. Enrico coughed lightly in her face, and she lost it. Pulling out her SIG, she shoved the man against the wall and pointed it at his temple, glaring into his fearful face with pure hatred. She was just about to pull the trigger when Gibbs voice came over the speaker.

"Special Agent Vidad." He sighed, sounding like he didn't want to stop her. "We don't want him dead," he paused briefly before continuing, "yet." Lisa smirked and backed away, tucking her SIG back where it belonged and sat down as if nothing happened.

* * *

Gibbs sighed once again as Mr. DiNozzo denied breaking into the house. He rubbed his temples and started to pace the floor, gaining a worried glance from DiNardo.

"Boss?" he asked tentatively, flinching as Jethro glared up at him before softening his gaze.

"How does he do it?" Jethro asked of no one in particular as he began his pacing again. DiNardo frowned.

"Do what, Boss?" he asked, glancing at the man and his girlfriend. Anger flashed up in him at the idea of _that_ man anywhere near Lisa, but his rational side told him that she was trained for this and has faced much worse. Somehow, this only troubled him more. Gibbs smirked lightly, as though reading his agent's thoughts, before returning to his usual expression.

"How does he always slip through our fingers?" he asked again, slowing his pace as his voice grew louder and angrier by the second. Tony glanced nervously into interrogation, hoping that no one had heard this outburst. Thankfully, no one seemed to notice.

"Boss, I don't kn—"

"You are supposed to find these things out, DiNardo!" Jethro interrupted. "You're an _investigator_!" He sighed again, and stopped his pacing, bringing his long since forgotten coffee cup up to his lips.

"This man," he said harshly, "has been terrorizing my _son_ since he was little! He has killed his own _wife_, and attempted to kill _me!_" Jethro took a deep breath before asking one final question:

"Who is helping him through all this!"

* * *

"That's right, I want it to be three layers… oh! And dark purple would be perfect!"

"Abby…" Tali interrupted, trying to grasp the phone from her friends hands once again, but in her current position, that was near impossible. Abby glared down at her friend and grabbed Tali's wrist with her free hand, forcing it behind her back with the other one. So now, Abby had both of Tali's hands behind her back, and was sitting on her, looking as though she had just made an arrest. Abby was quite proud of herself.

"Abby! Let me up right now!" Tali cried from her position on the floor, kicking her legs out and nearly hitting Abby in the face. Abby tsked thrice.

"Not now, Natalia," she scolded, as if she were talking to a young child, "I am busy ordering Ziva's birthday cake… no, I want black and red flowers… yes, butter-cream icing…"

"ABBY! Ziva doesn't want a cake, let alone a purple one with flowers! She'll MURDER me!" Tali yelled, doing her best to thrash out of her not-so-friendly friend's grip. Abby sighed and shook her head sadly.

"I think you're blowing this out of proportion," she replied calmly, "of course she'll love it!" Tali growled.

"You are DILUSIONAL! Ziva is an assassin-in-training! She once threatened to kill me with her credit card!" At this, Abby laughed, causing Tali to slump in defeat.

"Silly Tali, how could Ziva possibly kill you with a piece of plastic?"

* * *

"So what do you want to do tonight, sweet-cheeks?" Tony asked politely, squeezing Ziva a bit tighter as they rested peacefully on the couch… that is, until Tony started talking, Ziva noted in annoyance.

"Well, what would you like to do, my little hairy-butt?" Ziva asked just as sweetly, smirking internally as she watched Tony go red.

"How would you know—!" Ziva silenced him with a finger and began to laugh quietly.

"I meant no harm, Tony. Honestly, what would you like to do?" she asked curiously, resting her head back on his chest, where it had been earlier. Tony sighed in annoyance, wrapping his arms, if possible, tighter around her, fearing that she may disappear. Ziva coughed.

"Not that I mind, but Tony, my sides are starting to hurt…" she trailed off when he pulled back abruptly with a look of hurt and fear on his face… '_weird'_, Ziva thought.

"Tony…?" she asked, reaching out to him and placing a hand on his chest. Immediately, she was in his arms again, but her confusion still remained.

"I'm sorry…" Tony murmured, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent "I was… thinking…" Ziva frowned, and waited before responding.

"About what? Tony what is wrong?" Tony sighed and nuzzled his face into her hair. They sat for seconds, minutes, hell, to Ziva it seemed like hours before he responded.

"I'm worried… about my dad, I mean, my real one… Mr. DiNozzo…" he finally whispered, letting out one choked breath before his breathing quieted and he fell asleep. Ziva sighed. She had always envied his ability to just fall asleep on command, but now, it proved to be a bad thing… his sleep contained nothing but nightmares nowadays, and so there was no non-reality for Tony to escape to anymore.

"It will be okay, Tony…" she whispered, kissing his cheek. Of course she knew that she could not predict that, but it made her feel better to say it aloud… it made the possibility more real…

* * *

**Anyway, for those of you who are interested in Jesus' story, read below…**

**Me (as I walk into my room): "Oh my God! Mojo (what I had previously named my lizard) you're all black!"**

**Mojo (AKA Jesus): *all black and motionless***

**Me: *pokes Mojo***

**Mojo: *to sum it up in one word… dead***

**Me: "NO! *sniff* he even smells dead too… NOOOO!"**

**Mojo: *dead***

**3 HOURS LATER**

**Me: *sniffs* "It's time to bury Mojo… aww…"**

**Mojo: *alive and green… and eating***

**Me: "OH MY GOD! JESUS!"**

**And that is how my lizard's name is Jesus. Okay, so I mean no offense to those of you who are Christian (I happen to be one myself… sorta…) I am not mocking Jesus or anything like that, it's just a joke between me and my friends. No harm or offense intended. **


	12. Emotions

**The all awaited… DISCLAIMER:**

**Me: *knocks on random door***

**Door: *opens***

**Me: Hello, do you own NCIS?**

**Person: No *closes door***

**Me: *knocks on another door***

**Door: *opens***

**Me: Hello, do **_**you**_** own NCIS?**

**Person: No *closes door***

**My quest to find the NCIS owner has begun!**

**~Sbteja**

* * *

Tony sighed as he stared at the boarded up window in the corner; its presence mocking him, reminding him of the night he strained to forget. He would never forget, though, Tony realized with a sigh. This too will just be filed into the 'DiNozzo' part of his brain… the terrifying part…

Tony sighed, once again, not having anything better to do than stare at his childhood getaway and release breath in a loud and timed fashion, before giving up his solitary spot on the bed and opting for a better spot on the windowsill.

One single hole in the wood allowed for the only light to illuminate his room, and for now, it would suffice. Normally, on a fine Wednesday like today, Tony would be at school, joking around with the guys or flirting with his girl. Not today. Today, the pitiful excuse for a man, _Enrico_, was let out of NCIS custody once again, due to the fact that the drops of blood found were not from Mr. DiNozzo, but from Tony himself! Tony scoffed; he didn't understand how that man could get away! He was standing in _this_ room, as plain as day, with _two_ witnesses! But _no!_ Even after he was taken _from_ the house in the back of an NCIS truck, Enrico was still allowed to walk! It made no sense! Tony slammed his fists against the wooden boards, eliciting a small crack in protest.

His dad had explained that Mr. DiNozzo probably had friends in high places, which would explain the excellent lawyer and lack of forensic evidence found. The only problem was the 'who' part. 'Who' is helping him? 'Who' does he possibly work for?

Tony released a short cry as he slammed his fists once more into the wood. This was all too much for him; his past was catching up to him, yet it was a race he couldn't lose! Tears streamed down his face as a pair of warm arms snaked around his shoulders.

Young Tony looked up into the eyes of his mother before succumbing to the raging sobs that racked through his body. Jenny Shepherd-Gibbs could only hold her adopted son in hope that this would be the last of his fits. Tony knew he was getting too emotional about this, and were this under any other circumstances, he also knew that his father would be disappointed. An NCIS agent needs to remain detached in times like this so that he could remain rational and focused. However, this was no ordinary incident; this was no ordinary NCIS case. This was personal, and so it called for a few broken rules. Tony sighed as he forced the last of his cries from his exhausted teenage body and looked up into the face of his second mother, but a mom all the same.

"I'm sorry."

* * *

Ziva David sat determinedly, back erect, feet flat on the floor, and hands on her desk in an effort to remain calm and rational. Tony was not in school today, and it could only mean one thing; Enrico was no longer in custody.

With this information in mind, Ziva had little patience and a strong will to go and find this man. And end him. This feeling of hatred towards a man she hardly knew would usually confuse Ziva, but from everything she had experienced and heard for herself, she knew this man should die. It was harsh, but this is what Ziva had been taught. It is what she will be taught, when she had to leave…

Ziva's head moved fractionally, left and right, in an effort to shake the train of thought from her head, but not enough to break her carefully constructed position. Were she to break this position, she would surely run towards the nearest exit, searching for him…

Her eyes flickered up from her stationary hands to the face of her teacher, Mr. Vance. His lips moved and his brow creased, but Ziva could not focus hard enough to catch the words coming from his mouth; all her energy was focused, once again, onto her erect seating. She allowed a slow breath to seep through her slightly parted lips before directing her mind to a less violent train of thought. Tony.

Throughout the past week, Tony has grown increasingly distant. Over the last few days in particular, Tony has refrained from any hand holding, and the only contact she received was when she would lay her head on his shoulder while watching TV. And even then, he would occasionally shrug away. Ziva allowed her expression to shift into a frown as she thought of the last kiss they shared; less than two weeks ago. This puzzled her, and she wondered idly if he was losing interest in her. Ziva winced internally pain shot through her at the thought of Tony not wanting her, and this confused her more. Of course she cared for Tony, she wasn't as stone hearted as she would like to be, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that maybe she cared _too_ much for Tony. After all, she was leaving soon, and the more she became involved with him, the more pain their… relationship… would cause when she left for Israel. At least, that was the plan from the beginning. But now, as Ziva mulled over the idea of Tony getting rid of her, or possibly replacing her, she was growing increasingly alarmed at the amount of pain that those thoughts caused. Fortunately for her strained body and mind, the last bell rang for the day.

* * *

"So… what? The party's cancelled?"

Tali groaned for what was, most likely, the millionth time today. She was currently trying to explain to her best friend _why_ it would not be a wise idea to throw her sister's birthday party _at all_, let alone the day that Abby had planned; Tony's birthday, which was only a week and a half away!

Abby, however, was convinced that this was exactly what the doctor ordered for both Ziva _and_ Tony. Ever since the whole DiNozzo incident, Tony has been down, for good reason of course, but it was starting to get old… fast. And then there's Ziva. Well, she hasn't exactly been a bowl of sunshine either.

Don't get Abby wrong, though. She understands the pain and horrors in Tony's past, and recognizes that Enrico's little… _visit_… triggered those memories. She only wants to help her older brother of three years to come out of his emo-corner and face his fears… and apparently the way to do that is through a party.

"Abby!" Tali yelled in frustration, fisting her hands on her hips and glaring at her best friend.

"Tali!" Abby mimicked her position and held a sharp glare in return. Both girls stood there for what seemed like hours, neither of them wanting to give up the 'contest' they had going on. Thankfully, someone chose this moment to knock on the door.

Abby huffed and swiftly patted her pocket to find her knife still in place (ever since Enrico's _visit_ every Gibbs was to have one). Tali did the same and followed wearily behind, showing more fear than the annoyed girl in front of her. Abby yanked open the door quickly, but her expression of frustration quickly melted as a warm blush fell over her cheeks instead.

"Hello Timmy." She greeted, allowing the equally blushing boy into her home. He smiled sheepishly.

"Hey Abbs." he shyly greeted her back, before waving slightly at Tali, who was still slightly behind Abby. Tali smiled brightly, blissfully unaware of the awkward tension that fell over the room.

"Hello Tim!" she added, before pulling her two friends into the family room. McGee, glanced over at Abby as he was towed into the other room, and, if possible, his face became even redder.

* * *

"Nothing? You're telling me that although we've been at this case for over four _weeks_, one _month,_ you've got _nothing_?"

Tommy DiNardo shrunk lower into his seat, desperately trying to avoid the piercing gaze of his older, and more intimidating, boss. He gulped audibly and ran a hand through his hair, chuckling nervously. Jethro grimaced and stood from his position leaning over Agent Tommy's desk. He sighed loudly and slammed his hand onto his senior field agent's desk.

"Doesn't _anyone_ here know how to do their _job_?"

Special Agent Lisa Vidad stood silently, the look in her eyes giving the impression that she wasn't the least bit surprised or scared by her superior's outburst.

"Special Agent Gibbs," she spoke clearly, her Israeli accent almost unidentifiable to anyone that wasn't Tommy, "I have gathered information from the neighbors surrounding your house. Several claimed to have seen a figure on your roof, but thought little of it, seeing as how Tony climbs up there often. No one heard any unusual commotion from the house-"

"how does that help us, Lisa?" Jethro cut in angrily. Agent Vidad snorted.

"If you would let me finish, maybe you would understand." her tone of voice cut like a knife through the nearly silent NCIS building, showing that she too had allowed some feelings to get involved in this case. Special Agent Gibbs' eyes widened slightly, and he nodded, motioning her to continue. Lisa took a deep breath before finishing her sentence.

"However, one of your neighbors noticed a _faded burgundy Cadillac_ which matches the description of Enrico DiNozzo's car; a 2002 Cadillac STS."

Jethro thought about this for a moment, when an idea came to mind. He nodded at Lisa and turned back to his slightly shaken Senior Field Agent.

"I need a warrant, DiNardo. You're gonna search that car."


	13. Anything and Everything

**Disclaimer:**

**Me: *walks up to fish tank***

**Reno: *swims up and stares***

**Me: *drops fish food in* You think I own NCIS, right Reno?**

**Reno: *swims away with food in mouth***

**Me: *sighs* Nyah… Hey, where's Isa?**

**Isa: *in hiding… somewhere***

**Me: Oh yeah, I forgot… she only eats shrimp… *sighs***

**Well, at least Reno understands that I don't own NCIS. As for Isa… well, she's just a spoiled clownfish, so I wouldn't listen to her anyway.**

* * *

"DiNardo! Where's that warrant?" Special Agent Tommy winced upon hearing his name, though only because it came from the mouth of his boss. The man sounded pretty [censored] off. The younger of the two swallowed thickly, stretching out the fingers that laid on his keyboard. "Uhm, well, you see boss-" the field agent was abruptly cut off as a hand fell upon his desk with enough force to create a resounding 'smack'.

Tommy jumped, and quickly his attention turned towards the angry graying man who had so kindly slapped his desk. Of course, being DiNardo, the man couldn't help but comment on the hair… "Boss, I think you're going gray…" he stated, attempting to inject a bit of humor into the situation. His superior's eyes narrowed, but otherwise the bossman sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Where's the warrant, DiNardo?" he tried again, this time sighing the words as he attempted to calm himself.

As Tommy began to give some sort of excuse for the absent documents, Agent McGregor cowered slightly behind his own desk, sweat pooling at his hairline. It wasn't like Gibbs to get angry so easily, or to yell so much. In fact, the man was usually silent and … happier. Now, he had more prominent wrinkles and frown lines than before; every one of them deepening the longer this particular case went on…

"… and that's why I don't have the warrant, Boss." the sheepish field agent concluded, ducking his head slightly as if giving Gibbs a free opportunity for a good head slap. Surprisingly, the older man didn't take it, and merely sighed as he walked out of the bullpen. Lisa blinked in surprise, but otherwise continued her own personal investigation as Tommy rubbed the back of his head in disbelief.

* * *

"Whatchya got, Amy?" a familiar voice asked, and the over-excited forensic scientist whirled around with a slight jump. "Anything and everything," the teenage-like woman answered, a smug smirk falling over her features, "That is, if you're willing to pay up." Almost childlike in her begging, Amy Sutton held out her hands for her favorite energizing drink. Of course, Gibbs hadn't brought one with him, but one should never underestimate him.

For the first time in the past few days, a small smile graced Jethro's lips – the first genuine one in weeks, actually. Ignoring the outstretched hands for now, he made his way to Sutton's lab fridge and seemingly grabbed a caf-pow from thin air. Amy grinned, accepting the drink eagerly before gazing curiously at the man before her. "I was sure I locked that, Gibbs…" The man in question shrugged. "Anything and everything, Amy?" he asked, peering at whatever was on the girl's screen.

Amy slurped from the drink loudly before setting it down with a satisfied 'Ah' and turned towards her work. "Well, seeing as how the blood I found earlier was Tony's... I figured I owed you one." The scientist proceeded to slap the back of her own head before continuing, causing the graying agent beside her to smirk slightly. "So so so! I ran 'anything and everything' again, and guess what I got, Gibbs?" Jethro merely raised an eyebrow in question, not even bothering to answer, to which Amy pouted. "Gibbs!" she whined, clasping her hands together in a pleading manner, "It's no fun when you don't guess!"

The Special Agent sighed, attempting to keep his temper in check before replying with a simple "Anything and Everything?" Sutton grinned, turning back to her computers as she answered. "You are correct! I found the 'anything and everything' we were looking for, Gibbs! The jackpot – the bonanza – the answer to ev-!" Before the forensic specialist to ramble on too much, the agent beside her cut her off. "Amy…" he reminded her, gesturing vaguely to the techy stuff before him. Sutton huffed, holding up her hands in surrender as she continued. "Alright, alright, just hold your horses there, Gibbs." she answered, taking a quick sip of caf-pow before finally reaching her point. "Okay, so I ran everything through once more, and double checked everything, and you'll never guess what I found!" Gibbs gave her a slight disapproving glance as if to say 'I'm not doing this again', but the girl simply ignored it, typing a command into one of her main computers.

"It's a partial print, Gibbs! I found it on the window you so kindly gave me!" she answered in excitement, glancing over at Tony Gibbs' old bedroom window. "It's not enough to run through the system, but if I have something to compare it to, then we're golden!" Gibbs nodded in response, his face holding the same expression though his eyes shone slightly. "Thanks, Amy." he murmured, grabbing the caf-pow and handing it to her as he kissed her cheek. "Good job." And with that, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs had left the room, leaving a rather proud Amy in his wake.

Maybe now, he can get this too-long case all wrapped up.

* * *

"Vidad! I need you to get a print off DiNozzo. Any way you can do that?" Agent Lisa Vidad glanced up from her computer, a curious look plastered across her face as Gibbs reappeared in the bullpen. She nodded firmly before standing - knowing that her boss had meant now - and proceeded to grab her jacket and other things before making her way towards the elevator.

Tommy looked a bit skeptical as he peered out from behind his own desktop, watching as his girlfriend stepped into the elevator. Getting a partial print off of someone was one thing, but Enrico DiNozzo? How was Lisa supposed to do that? Sighing, the young agent shook his head in slight defeat. She could do it, he knew, it was just the how part that puzzled him. But hey, what's life without a few mysteries, right?

Jim looked up from his computer as well, gazing in question at Jethro instead of Lisa. "I take it that Amy found something?" he asked rather timidly, still afraid that the bossman might lash out on him as well. Gibbs smirked, bringing his ever-present cup of coffee up for a sip before responding. "Anything and everything, McGregor."

* * *

**So, yeah… this is pretty short, and it only has the current team, but there were just some unanswered questions that I wanted to go over. **

**Riddle:**

**What row of numbers comes next in this series?**

**1**  
**11**  
**21**  
**1211**  
**111221**  
**312211**  
**13112221**


End file.
